A Dire Tone For School District Officials

"I can't underscore the seriousness of what we're facing," said School District of Philadelphia Deputy for Strategic Initiatives Danielle Floyd.

"It is something that this district and city has never faced before," Deputy for Strategic Planning and Implementation Jennie Wu.

Office of Grade and Space Director Bill Montgomery, for his part, said the district's financial situation now is worse than it was in December.

That's in part because the district will be forced to identify $61 million in cuts by the end of the school year or else employees won't get paid in July for work they did in June.

The officials made the comments during  regarding the - transition, in which they talked to parents about and moving of the former next year.

The move, in part, is coming because the district wants to get out of a lease at St. Therese church that costs the district $200,000 per year. The church leases the space to AMY Northwest.

Over and over, they sounded alarms when it came to the district's financial situation in a way that seemed more dire than ever before.

"The school district has really fallen on the hardest times I can remember," Zanoni said.

We thought it was bad last year when the district, over and over, warned media, parents and teachers that lots of cuts would be coming. But the tone now is a little more desperate.

It makes you wonder what could be coming. It's not exactly clear where the $61 million will be found, or how the district plans on filling a $269 million gap next fiscal year.

What's clear, though, is that the district is making sure it wants to sound these alarm bells early. It doesn't want to shock people with sudden announcements, and its plan to include the public more in the decision-making process—it's , for example—is only a good thing.

Downsizing will likely continue to happen, and it wouldn't be surprising if more schools are merged or closed in the coming years. The district  about how they might have to move for the start of the 2013-14 year.

It's not going to be an enjoyable time for the district and its stakeholders. But hopefully this "make it sound bad now" strategy will be beneficial in the long run for everyone.