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Jefferson board reviews staffing plan that would cut 1.96 FTE amid projected 36‑student decline
Summary
At a first reading, the Jefferson School District superintendent presented an enrollment‑driven staffing plan that projects a 36‑student net decline and proposes a 1.96 FTE reduction through section realignments and attrition; the plan keeps special education and multilingual staffing levels intact and will return for a second reading April 14.
The Jefferson School District Board of Education received a first reading of an enrollment‑driven staffing plan that would reduce 1.96 full‑time equivalent (FTE) positions, Superintendent Dr. Ernest said during the board's March meeting.
Dr. Ernest told the board the district’s enrollment analytics — combining third‑Friday and second‑Friday counts with a Baird forecasting model — show a projected net decrease of about 36 students for next school year. “We’re looking at probably a decrease of 36 students for next year,” he said, and added, “Our overall reduction in the staffing plan is going to be 1.96 FTE.”
The draft plan pairs modest staffing reductions with program adjustments rather than immediate layoffs, Dr. Ernest said. The presentation lists specific proposals: add one kindergarten section at East Elementary, reduce one first‑grade FTE where enrollment permits, reduce offerings of a fifth‑grade band (shifting band start to sixth grade), and make small reductions at the middle and high school levels (0.16 FTE and two 0.4 FTE reductions in social studies and science, respectively). A one‑FTE reduction in a reading specialist position reflects an August 2024 resignation that the district did not replace.
“Even though we’re reducing 1.96 FTE based on these projections, no one is receiving a layoff notice for staffing reasons based on enrollment,” Dr. Ernest said, noting the changes rely partly on attrition and program realignments.
The district plans to maintain current multilingual (English language learner) and special education staffing levels, the superintendent added, saying special education enrollments remain steady or higher. The staffing plan uses teacher‑to‑pupil ratio guidelines and a list of exceptions (for example, shop or welding classes that require smaller enrollments) to inform decisions.
Dr. Ernest framed the staffing work inside recently approved operational referendum funds, the district’s scorecard for its wildly important goals and a multi‑step accountability cadence in which principals, directors and the superintendent report weekly on progress. He said administrators will continue to monitor “hot spots” where a building nears class‑size limits and reassess staffing if attrition or enrollment trends change.
Board members asked clarifying questions during the presentation. Dr. Ernest said the plan is a first reading and that the board will consider a second reading at its April 14 meeting. If adopted, the staffing plan would inform scheduling and budgeting for 2025‑26 but does not itself issue layoff notices, he said.
The meeting packet accompanying the presentation included an executive summary, certified composites for each school, and appendices showing district policy, a survival‑rate table used for projections, and notes about local class‑size practices.
What happens next: the staffing plan returns for a second reading on April 14; administrators will continue to monitor enrollment, attrition and building‑level class sizes and report back to the board.
