MARION, Iowa (KCRG) – On Thursday, Linn-Mar School District confirmed that 50 full-time staff positions will be cut in the district for the 2024/2025 school year.
At Monday’s board meeting, the district announced that even though they have cut nearly $3 million this school year, they will also have to cut $2.5 million for next year.
“As a district, we are focused on managing these financial challenges while attempting to minimize the impact on our operations and the quality of the educational experience our students receive.” said Amy Kortemeyer, superintendent. “We do not make these decisions lightly, as every staff member who serves our schools provides extraordinary value to our students and families. However, we must take action to fulfill our responsibility to balance our budget and maintain a healthy financial condition.
19 full-time teaching positions and 31 full-time classified staff positions will be cut as part of the budget cuts.
The district has cited a combination of expiring COVID-19 relief funding, reduced funding from the state legislature and declining enrollment as factors in the financial shortfall.
“We are fortunate to serve a community that supports its local schools and the people behind them,” Kortemeyer said. “We are committed to balancing our budget and providing our students with the best possible educational experience. “We want our employees and community to know that we will face these challenges together.”
You can read Superintendent Amy Kortemeyer’s letter to district families and staff below:
Dear family member,
I am writing to let you know that, during last Monday’s Board of Education meeting, Linn-Mar Community School District announced cuts of approximately $2.5 million for the next, 2024-25, fiscal year.
To balance the budget, the district has made cuts in several areas, including areas both related and unrelated to staffing.
These are very difficult decisions for us. Many school districts across the state are facing the same dilemma as us, primarily due to years of State Supplemental Aid (SSA) underfunding, the loss of ESSER (COVID Relief) funding, and declining certified enrollment.
To date, we have taken several steps to address the budget shortfall, including collecting cost-saving ideas from staff, offering early separation incentives to teachers, providing these same incentives to administrators and preparing staff members for the next It involves conducting a survey to find out the intentions of. School year.
The district cut nearly $3 million this school year. However, the following year’s deduction cannot be obtained solely through items unrelated to staffing, early separations, retirements or resignations. Given that 80% of the district’s general fund budget consists of salaries and benefits, we will need to reduce our teaching staff by 19 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions and classified staff by 31 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions for 2024. . 25 school years.
Staff members affected by the cuts have been informed. We expect these actions will result in some class sizes returning to pre-pandemic levels (i.e. 21-25 at initial level). We want to make these budget cuts while minimizing the impact as much as possible on our students and the quality education they receive.
Public schools are the heart of our community, and our collective voice can be used to advocate for adequate funding for public schools. please consider contacting you State MLA About this serious issue.
Thank you for your support of Linn-Mar Community School District and the students we serve.
sincerely,
Amy Kortemeyer, Superintendent
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