Nine laid off at district

Sulphur Springs positions could be reinstated if funding improves

The Sulphur Springs School District board agreed this week to lay off nine employees.

One permanent employee and eight probationary employees will be terminated at the end of the school year. Notices will be sent out by May 15.

“We were able to avoid reductions to our full-time teaching staff, and we were very

pleased to do that,” Assistant Superintendent Josh Randall said during Wednesday night’s board meeting.

On March 9 the board had agreed to reduce or discontinue the equivalent of 11.8 full-time certificated positions at the end of the school year. Certificated employees are teachers, counselors and others required to have a certification from the state.

Preliminary layoff notices were sent to 32 certificated employees by March 15. Those positions included an assistant principal, seven elementary school teachers and nine tiered intervention teachers on special assignment.

But the elementary school district that serves Canyon Country was able to reduce the number of layoffs.

All of the employees due to be laid off after Wednesday’s board meeting have been hired since 2013, and most came to the district last summer.

District officials said they may be able to reduce the number of layoffs further as budget plans for next school year move ahead.

“These positions are tied to categorical funding that we don’t receive confirmation of until July of each year, so once we have confirmation of funding, these positions can be looked at if needed to be reinstated,” Randall said. “That will be a yearly cycle with these positions.”

Board President Shelley Weinstein thanked teachers who submitted their retirement paperwork early for helping the district avoid more cuts.

Sulphur Springs has faced layoffs in recent years due to declining

enrollment. The district has seen a decrease of nearly 100 students over the last two years, but the board received some good news Wednesday with the district’s demographer forecasting growth within a few years.

Davis Demographics projects enrollment will decline from 5,393 in the fall of 2015 to 5,284 in the fall of 2017. Numbers are expected to begin increasing in 2018 with a total growth of 398 students over the next seven years.

David Kaitz, a representative for Davis, explained the projections are based partly on planned development and could decrease or increase as plans change.

He said the board may need to consider redrawing school boundaries in the coming years as some areas see an influx of new students.