Norfolk Public Schools board approves proposed cuts to close projected 2025–26 shortfall

The Norfolk Public Schools Board of Education voted Wednesday to approve a package of budget reductions intended to reduce a projected budget gap for the 2025–26 school year.

District finance presenter Eric Wilson told the board staff identified a $1,450,000 shortfall while building the 2024–25 budget and proposed cuts and adjustments that would produce $876,000 in potential reductions before accounting for previously approved additions of $172,000, yielding a net projected savings of $704,000 for 2025–26. “As we started building the budget for the 24‑25 school year, we knew that we were looking at a $1,450,000 budget shortfall,” Wilson said during the presentation.

The plan approved by the board includes a mix of adjustments: reducing the legal services line by $170,000 (from a previously larger balance driven by litigation), halving the student‑teacher stipend program (from $4,000 to $2,000 per student‑teacher), trimming $10,000 from the Board of Education budget, removing an unfilled behavior specialist position ($81,120), ending a presence‑learning contract that had cost roughly $200,000, a not‑filled SLP (speech‑language pathologist) budgeted at $80,000 that would instead be covered by contract until a hire is made, and other efficiencies in technology and staffing that together were expected to yield approximately $242,880 in savings from combined position changes.

Wilson also said the district achieved a $120,000 savings on a recent desktop replacement purchase that translates to a $24,000 annual budget reduction across the five‑year replacement cycle, and that the state will resume paying for MAP growth testing next year, saving the district roughly $18,000.

Board members and administration framed the changes as targeting low‑impact options when possible. Superintendent Jamie Jo Thompson and board members stressed that the district intends to rely on attrition and reassignments rather than layoffs: “We have said that we would look at staffing attrition, not necessarily firing any staff members or releasing any staff members, but as staff members retire or resign looking at those positions,” Wilson explained. Trustees also noted previously approved additions (a halftime ELL teacher and other positions) that reduced the total available cut amount.

After discussion, the motion to approve the list of budget cuts passed on a 6–0 vote. The board’s stated goal for an initial round of cuts had been $400,000; the approved package aims to exceed that while preserving core instructional staffing and services.

What happens next

The approved reductions will be incorporated into the 2025–26 budget materials. Board members and administration said they will continue to monitor staffing needs and hiring cycles and will bring further budget decisions to the board if conditions change.