Berman Discusses JCPS Efficiency At Forum

Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Sheldon Berman says he believes the school system is being run efficiently.At the monthly Louisville Forum Wednesday, Berman defended administrator salaries and said JCPS managers work just as hard as their private-sector counterparts, who often earn more.Another panelist, Indiana University Southeast Professor and former Libertarian candidate for Congress Eric Schansburg, said school officials should always be looking for ways to keep spending in check."Governments are famous for red tape and bureaucracy so I would suspect that JCPS...it would be abnormal for them not to have, quote, too many," he says.Berman says given the number of students it serves, the JCPS system is efficient, although the district is always looking for ways to streamline."That's why we have a management audit coming in and taking a look at it. We want to be able to make changes if there are necessary changes – become more efficient if we can," he says.The audit will be conducted this spring.Berman had previously announced plans to overcome a budget shortfall by laying off more than 260 employees, most of them in administration. The federal stimulus package will allow the system to avoid about half of those job losses.