Schools across Texas are bracing themselves for expected budget cuts from the Legislature, but a North Texas charter school said it may actually benefit from the shortfalls.
Nick Farley, CEO of The Education Center in Denton, said the cuts will still hit charter schools, but hopefully not as hard. He said his school could even profit if school districts lay off teachers and bump up class sizes.
"We are expecting that there may be some calls to us because we keep the ratio smaller," he said. "Rather than losing funds, we may end up with an increase since we get paid out of average daily attendance."
The Education Center also said the number of applicants to teach has skyrocketed.
"At this time, we don't plan on laying off anybody," Farley said.
Rebecca Devers, a teacher at The Education Center, began her career in a public school but switched four years ago because she could not handle her growing classroom sizes.
"If you have so many students that you can't make your rounds in the classroom, they aren't getting the attention they need," she said.
Devers said she fears the expected budget cuts will worsen the situation and force other teachers to jump ship like she did.
"I am getting probably two calls a week now, and of course, this is early," Farley said. "Teachers are already thinking, 'Well, am I going to get laid off?'"
Farley said his school may pay less, but at least it's a job.
"You know, a cut in pay is better than nothing at all," Devers said.
