FWISD Announces About 80 Employee Layoffs
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - The Fort Worth Independent School District has determined who will lose their jobs in an effort to balance the district's budget. At a meeting that lasted late into Tuesday night, the school board was presented with a plan which eliminates 553 positions, but not necessarily employees.
Due to the number of district employees who are expected to either retire or resign at the end of the school year, FWISD officials believe that actual layoffs will only reach to about 80 staffers. Most of those cuts, the district said, will be support positions. Some employees will be transferred to other campuses.
The district is expected to lose up to $72 million in state funding over the next two years. Officials have been struggling for weeks to find ways to cut the district budget with a minimal classroom impact on students. FWISD board members acknowledged that the decisions they had to make were difficult, but stressed that the budget is 87 percent personnel – and it would have been difficult to slash the budget without layoffs.
School district officials were able to avoid some highly controversial cuts which had been proposed over the past few weeks. Full-day kindergarten will continue. Extracurricular activities will continue. Five new schools which were built through a capital improvement program will be opened. Qualified probationary teachers will not lose their jobs. There will be no disruptions to arts and music programs.
However, the district will not be able to re-hire teachers who have already voluntarily retired in light of the looming cuts. This allows the teachers who did not voluntarily retire to keep their jobs.
The school district plans to work with employees who are losing their jobs. Principals and supervisors will be provided a list of their names and will be encouraged to hire from that list when possible.
