Whitley County Consolidated Schools will eliminate 6.5 positions, employees to be notified on May 1
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
To say Thursday was a night of tough decisions for the Whitley County Consolidated School board would be an understatement.
“These are three words I never wanted to see on an agenda when I ran for school board,” said board member Tim Bloom. Those words: reduction in force.
Due to budgetary constraints and the economy, the school board found itself in the difficult spot of having to make that recommendation during the meeting, voting 7 to 1 in favor of eliminating 6.5 positions within the school system.
According to school superintendent Dr. Laura Huffman, notices will be provided to those staff impacted by the reduction in force on May 1.
Huffman told the board the staff would complete their current contracts and the reduction take effect for the 2009-2010 school year.
When asked where the reduction in force is likely to be felt, Huffman said the administration has been primarily looking at reducing positions in the elementary schools, thereby allocating class sizes differently.
“In time, we might be looking at other areas,” Huffman said. “We’re still taking a broad look at this.”
“It’s a fair statement to say we’ve looked at every other alternative,” Bloom said of the decision to eliminate positions within Whitley County Consolidated Schools. “We have to give these notices as much as I personally hate to see it happen.
Huffman remains optimistic that while the notices will be given to staff on May 1, there may be some way in the future to reinstate the eliminated staff.
“We will keep looking to see if there are avenues where we could reinstate,” Huffman added.
Comments
How about we eliminate half of the administration. If you want to save some dollars that would be a start.
Posted by: Ben Romine | April 24, 2009 09:47 AM
Why is it when schools need to cut staff, they always go right to the elementary level? This is where we NEED smaller class sizes and if anyone has ever spent a week with an elementary teacher, especially kindergarten or first grade, they would KNOW WHY!!!
Posted by: Vicki | April 24, 2009 03:12 PM
I am actually surprised that they didn't initially begin cutting art programs such as photography, band, choir, etc. They usually don't like classes that inspire creativity.
Posted by: Brandon Monnier | April 24, 2009 03:51 PM
I agree with the earlier post - we need to cut administration and not the teaching staff that works directly with our children. WCCS has too much administration cost that needs to be cut.
Posted by: Julie | April 26, 2009 05:08 PM