Little Rock School District set to ax more than 80 jobs

$5.5M cut in expenses is goal

Little Rock School District headquarters are shown in this file photo.
Little Rock School District headquarters are shown in this file photo.

Little Rock School District leaders on Thursday identified more than 80 positions -- including 30 teaching jobs and 18 assistant principals -- that will be cut for the 2018-19 school year in an effort to save at least $5.5 million in expenses.

Notices are going out this week to the employees whose jobs are affected, Superintendent Mike Poore told the Little Rock district's Community Advisory Board. Most of the employees can expect to be hired into other jobs in the district, he said, although some may see differences in their salaries.

The budget cuts, which have been anticipated for several months, are partly the result of declining student enrollment this year. Student counts are the basis for state funding to all school districts, and the Little Rock system lost about 400 students compared with the previous year's enrollment.

The district is also seeing a decline in state funding for poor students because its percentage of students eligible for subsidized school meals has fallen below the 70 percent threshold necessary for full funding.

Poore and Kelsey Bailey, the district's chief financial officer, said the 30 teaching positions to be cut will come equally from the elementary, middle and high school levels. That will save the district about $2.1 million.

The 18 assistant principal positions will save the district $1,440,000.

The elimination of up to 12 school improvement specialist jobs will be a savings of $600,000. The specialists were in many cases required by the state for the schools that were labeled as "priority" or "focus" schools because of low student test scores or because of wide achievement gaps between student groups. The specialists are no longer required by the state's school accountability plan, freeing the schools and districts to use the federal Title I funds for other purposes, Bailey said.

Also to be cut are 20 paraprofessional aides who assist teachers with student support and supervision, typically at the elementary level. The district is seeking a staffing ratio of 200 pupils to one paraprofessional.

Positions will also be cut in the district's central office and other school support buildings to save $650,000. Those include positions in human resources, maintenance, informational technology, child nutrition, safety and security and finance, Bailey said.

Also to be cut is $175,000 in stipends that are paid to middle and high school teachers for supervising students during lunch and before and after school.

Poore told the advisory board that he believes the district can move forward with its academic program despite the budget reductions. If the district is successful in making cuts beyond the $5.5 million, there would be opportunities for adding programs that would benefit to students as well as compensate staff members -- including adjustments to coaching stipends that have not been modified since 1985, he said.

Metro on 04/27/2018

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