Superintendent outlines staff-reduction plan centered on attrition as enrollment declines; board raises rural-equity concerns

Faced with declining enrollment and budget pressures, the superintendent presented a draft list of staffing adjustments intended to reduce district costs primarily through attrition and reassignment.

Administration said closure of the Atoll school and other shifts will require absorbing some positions and that the list includes potential reductions in rural administrative roles, a rural reading interventionist, a gifted-position (TAG), a high-school math FTE that may be reallocated from a newly resigned counseling position, and reductions in music and library paraprofessional time. The superintendent said the intent was to minimize layoffs, use attrition and create alternatives where possible, but acknowledged that future years could require nonrenewals if enrollment declines further.

Board members and public commenters pressed for alternatives that would protect rural positions and TAG supports; one board member said rural cuts comprise a disproportionate share of items on the draft list. The business manager and superintendent described targeted savings numbers on the order of $950,000 to $1.5 million depending on scenarios and said that legal notification timelines (nonrenewals by April 15) constrain the schedule. The board asked administration to provide detailed alternatives (e.g., partial FTE reductions, reassignments) and to present the math-versus-counselor mapping for the high school at the March meeting so trustees can evaluate tradeoffs before any formal nonrenewal action.