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Rockport to reduce staff as enrollment drops; middle school reconfiguration planned
Summary
Superintendent described staffing reductions tied to declining enrollment, including the equivalent of seven full-time teacher positions at the middle school, a proposed 5 FTE reduction among paraprofessionals, cuts to stipend curriculum coordinators and creation of a single preK–12 special education facilitator.
Superintendent Mark Ranco detailed staffing changes included in the proposed FY26 budget that the district says are driven primarily by declining enrollment. Ranco said the district is positioned to reduce the equivalent of seven full-time teachers and proposed reconfiguring middle-school staffing so fewer teachers rotate through grade bands. "We're in a position to reduce the equivalent of 7 full time teachers," he said, attributing the change to lower enrollment levels.
District leaders said some reductions come from positions left unfilled after last year’s town meeting (1.0 middle school assistant principal, 1.0 middle school special education teacher, 1.0 elementary paraprofessional). The plan also reduces or restructures coordinator stipends (six coordinator stipends restructured, yielding approximately $36,000 in savings) and proposes a new single preK–12 special education facilitator role in place of an elementary assistant principal / special ed facilitator to realize one full-time administrative savings.
What this means: Ranco emphasized the reductions were difficult and informed by contractual bumping, seniority, licensure and program needs; he said the district contracted NESDEC for enrollment projections and is working with the RTA during the process. Committee members asked for clarity about who would be affected; Ranco reiterated that human impacts are governed by contractual and HR processes.
