Harrison County Schools outlines plan to cut up to 47 positions after 429-student drop

Harrison County Schools officials on Tuesday presented the board with a plan to reduce staffing after a steep drop in enrollment that has left the district carrying hundreds of positions beyond the state-funded formula.

Tammy, the staff presenter, told the board the district currently employs 884.4 professional staff but is state-funded for 722.92, leaving an excess of 161.12 professional positions. She said service employees total 580.63 while state-funded service positions number 502.48, an excess of 78.15.

"Harrison County Schools currently employs 161.12 professional and 78.15 service personnel in excess of the positions funded by the state," Tammy said, summarizing figures distributed to board members.

Why it matters: State funding follows enrollment counts. Tammy and finance staff warned that the district’s second-month headcount of 8,926 students — a loss of 429 students from the previous year — reduces the number of positions the state will fund and increases the district’s local share of personnel costs.

What the plan would do: Staff proposed using the transfer/attrition season (January–May) to abolish positions where possible rather than pursue immediate layoffs. The proposal presented would abolish 26 professional positions, 13 service positions and 8 extracurricular positions (47 total) while creating roughly 3.5 new classroom positions and realigning four roles. Tammy said some positions must be created to cover shifting classroom needs; she described the process as iterative and dependent on retirements and resignations.

Financials and constraints: The presenter estimated that abolishments made since July 1 have generated an estimated funding reduction of $1,975,313 and avoided costs of $1,541,597.50. For the next year, staff projected savings of about $2,833,395 from the proposed abolishments and realignments. Finance staff also laid out larger budget figures: an estimated $26,534,000 in personnel costs that the district charges to its excess levy and a projected excess-levy allocation for personnel of $18,200,000 for 2027, leaving an $8.3 million shortfall if no other adjustments are made.

Board members pressed staff for specifics. Several trustees asked for the exact list of positions proposed for abolishment; Tammy said recommendations were still arriving and that any member who requested the detailed list would receive it. "If Mrs. Stottler wants you to have that list, you have that list," Tammy said, offering to meet individually to review recommendations.

Cost drivers called out in the presentation included rising substitute costs (which the finance staff said rose from $520,000 to $2.5 million over several years), extended professional contracts (counted differently in the state efficiency analysis and totaling about $2,661,000), medical allotments and other benefits. The finance staff noted extended service contracts contribute 24 additional FTEs to the district’s totals because a 250-day contract counts as 1.25 FTE.

Data, timing and next steps: Trustees asked about demographic and population studies to refine projections. Finance staff said the county assessor must deliver final valuation numbers by March 3 and that a levy-rate presentation is tentatively scheduled for the March 17 board agenda. Staff repeated offers to sit down with individual trustees to walk through the spreadsheets and recommended approaches for closing the funding gap, including shifting some costs out of the general fund and billing certain trip costs to the excess levy.

Board action: The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn that was seconded and approved; there were no recorded objections. The board did not vote on any personnel abolishments during the session.

What remains unresolved: Staff will supply the detailed list of recommended abolishments, continue monitoring retirements and resignations during transfer season, and present levy-rate numbers in mid-March. Trustees asked for additional population-projection data and said they would continue examining consolidation or other structural changes if enrollment declines continue.

Closing: The board adjourned after the presentation and discussion. The personnel decisions described by staff remain proposals until individual abolishment or realignment items appear on a future agenda for formal action.