More FWISD Cuts Could Follow School Board Meeting
FORT WORTH (KRLD) - The budget-cutting axe may fall Tuesday night in Fort Worth. Hundreds of Fort Worth Independent School District teachers could lose their jobs following an evening school board meeting.
The Senior Communications Officer with the Fort Worth ISD, Barbara Griffith, says the elimination of positions all comes down to money. "Because of the crisis at the state funding levels, we're gonna see a reduction of about $60 to $82 million to the Fort Worth ISD, over the next two years," she said.
The administration is recommending cutting 553 positions, but that doesn't necessarily mean 553 layoffs. "When I say 'positions' that doesn't necessarily mean bodies," explained Griffith. "That means that those positions won't be filled."
The more than half-a-hundred positions recommended for elimination include some 300 teachers who have already accepted a $5,000 bonus to retire early. Officials say those voluntary resignations will reduce the number of pink slips issued.
"We're gonna be laying off fewer than 200 actual employees, we believe," said Griffith.
The Fort Worth ISD board has already made deep budget cuts including eliminating teacher assistant, counselor and school administrator positions.
The Fort Worth ISD is facing an estimated $82 million budget cut from the state legislature.
