Boston schools bracing for cuts

Majority of them are set to lose staff Inflation, declining enrollment at play

Many schools across Boston are bracing for substantial cuts to staffing and program as the Boston School Committee prepares to vote Wednesday night on a $1.5 billion budget proposal for the upcoming school year.

About 70 percent of schools are set to lose at least some staff, with over one-third losing more than 5 percent of their workforce, according to a Globe review of Superintendent Mary Skipper’s budget proposal. Just 10 schools will increase staffing by more than 5 percent.

The impending changes have left parents across the district concerned about the state of their children’s education.

At Manning Elementary School in Jamaica Plain, parents fear budget cuts could affect students with disabilities. At Henderson K-12 Inclusion School in Dorchester, there’s worry that music and art will be reduced and many students with disabilities could be moved into separate classrooms for some services.

And at Condon K-8 School, parents are dismayed by the potential loss of nearly two dozen teachers and other staffers, as the school contends with declining enrollment.

“They are setting students up for failure,” said Suleika Soto, whose two children attend TechBoston Academy in Dorchester, where spending would shrink by $1 million next year. “Our students are losing services and the support they need.”

A confluence of factors are leading to the cuts. Chief among them is the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds. Other causes include declining enrollment; high inflation, which is driving up busing, facilities, and other costs; and programmatic changes, such as adding grade levels to some