Chesterfield County School District to cut 55 positions
CHESTERFIELD – Thirty-two teachers and 23 administrative positions will be eliminated for the 2010-11 school year after the Chesterfield County School District Board of Education voted to cut them during its regular meeting March 29. An additional 12 positions are also at risk as the district received word from the State Budget and Control Board this week that a millage increase is not an option to cover any budget shortfalls.
The 55 positions are currently filled by working retirees. The 23 administrative positions currently filled by working retirees at the district and school level include support personnel and coaches. Four principals, four assistant principals and seven certified administrators are affected.
“Sadly, we are going to have to tell some really good people that they no longer have jobs in Chesterfield County School District,” Superintendent Dr. John E. Williams said. “Our budget crisis is a serious situation, and it’s unprecedented.”
The district faces a $3.5 million state budget cut. The budget reduction from the state will see the per-student cost returned to levels roughly equivalent to the amounts seen in the mid 1990’s.
All working retiree teachers and administrators, with the exception of those certified and teaching in special education, were notified in writing last week that “due to the budget emergency, they should have no expectation of employment for the 2010-11 school year.” They were given the option to request their positions back at a reduced salary, dropped by 34 percent. The 34-percent salary reduction is based on the difference of a teacher with a master’s degree at the top of the scale and at the bottom of the scale on the district’s salary schedule.
The district has critical needs in math, science, special education and foreign languages, so Williams expects some may be rehired to fill those gaps.
The board also approved the superintendent’s recommendations to eliminate from the budget any positions that become vacant “where practical and necessary.”
“This is most definitely the toughest year I’ve seen in my six years on the board,” School Board Chairman Chad Vick said. “This board was faced with making decisions that are beyond our control. We do not take lightly the responsibility given to us as we try to make choices that are best for everyone. I commend Dr. Williams and my board for their leadership during this budget crisis.”
The superintendent added that the district is making other cuts across the board to help offset the budget deficit to reduce the number of lost teachers as much as possible – the number of lost teachers could have been as high as 67. He said the board will be looking at each line item in the budget to make the necessary cuts to cover the decrease in state funding.
Williams said he is specifically looking to streamline the district’s alternative school, the Palmetto Learning Center.
“All we can do is make the best of a bad situation,” Vick said.
For the last two years, all employees had to take furloughs with the exception of some special education staff and bus drivers.
“Up to this point, we reduced the number of teachers through attrition and by not filling positions,” Williams said. “We’ve cut out supplies and substitutes to save some positions too.”
Last year, the district cut working retirees’ salaries by 15 percent.
The district will also go back to a traditional seven-period day in the middle and high schools to save some jobs.
The district will continue to discuss the issue but will wait until the State Senate makes its budget decisions to finalize the budget. The next regular meeting of the board is May 10, but the board is expected to schedule a special meeting to explore the budget options further.
With the state of the economy that SC is in, I feel that the Teri employees should be the first to go. These are people hired back at the same salary that they retired at or maybe more. Administrators command a much higher salary than teachers-these should be eliminated too, not just in education but throughout all SC agencies. This will not be the case, because the Budget and Control Board has employees it could eliminate, but I doubt that it will-because it has a special relationship with legislators. There are 85 school districts in the state(I think) and duplication of administrators in each district. There should imo be only 46- 1 for each county.