Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Staffing Budget Reduction topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District proposes seven position reductions to close projected $750,000 deficit
Summary
The superintendent and HR director presented a staffing plan that recommends seven position reductions—mostly through attrition or retirements—to address an estimated $750,000 budget gap for 2025–26; the board will consider formal action as part of the FY26 budget process.
Superintendent Fowdy and Doctor Blackburn presented a staffing-reduction proposal on Feb. 11 intended to close a projected shortfall in next year’s budget. The district reported an estimated deficit of roughly $750,000 and recommended targeted reductions expected to save approximately $850,000.
Doctor Blackburn told trustees the staff-reduction recommendations were guided by trustee direction to prioritize aligning classified staff to enrollment, enforce class-size policy more strictly, and enable staff sharing across schools. The recommended reductions are primarily through attrition and included: two elementary classroom teachers (at two different sites, attributed to decreased enrollment), one elementary specials teacher (reallocation after a retirement), one secondary content-area teacher (consolidation after two retirements), one secondary elective teacher (0.5 reductions at two schools), one pupil services staff position (resignation), one paraprofessional (retirement or resignation), and one custodian (retirement or resignation). The district estimated the recommended changes would yield about $850,000 in savings using a conservative per‑position average.
Trustees asked for context about how the reductions compared with prior years and were told that leave and retirement volumes rose during the COVID years; typical pre‑COVID years saw one or two leaves every few years. Board members and staff emphasized a preference for using attrition and reallocation rather than involuntary reductions and indicated the proposal would return as part of the fiscal-year budget approval process in March and June.
Officials provided the savings assumptions used for planning: an average certified staff salary-plus-benefits figure of roughly $125,000 and an average classified position cost of about $50,000. District leaders said the plan is a conservative estimate and exact savings will depend on confirmed salaries and placements.
Because the plan will be folded into the formal budget approval, trustees did not take final action on staffing reductions at the Feb. 11 meeting. The board instructed staff to include the proposed reductions in the FY26 budget materials that will come to the board in March and again in June for final adoption.
