Roanoke City Public Schools will eliminate 170 positions across the division as it attempts to close a $14 million funding gap.
The school board voted Tuesday evening during a special meeting to approve the cuts. About 65 of the positions are currently filled with employees who will be directly impacted.
On March 11, the school board approved a preliminary budget that introduced many of the cuts to staff and other anticipated cuts to programs, maintenance and transportation. The budget shortfall is a result of changes in local funding and rising operational costs.
“We are in a people business, and this is one of the most painful things we will have to do in our division,” Superintendent Verletta White said during Tuesday’s meeting. “These are not just names on paper; these are real people and real jobs who support our students each and every day, many of whom rely on RCPS to make a living.”
Both instructional and noninstructional positions will be cut, the release said. More than 100 of the cuts will come from existing vacancies, resignations and retirements. The rest — about 65 — will affect current employees, with about half that number losing their jobs and the other half being shifted into new roles, division spokesperson Claire Mitzel said Wednesday.
Reorganization of some roles will occur, she said, with some division leaders moving to the school level depending on staffing needs.
The school division is not currently releasing further details about the positions that are being cut.
Rebekah Murphy, vice president of communications with the Roanoke City Council of PTAs, said in a text message Wednesday that the organization is “deeply disappointed that our school board and division leadership were forced to make these difficult decisions due to insufficient funding.”
“These cuts will have real and lasting consequences for our students, classrooms, and community,” Murphy wrote. “We urge the City of Roanoke to reconsider its funding formula and prioritize sustained, adequate investment in public education.”
Mitzel emphasized that the changes are still very fluid — the division could receive more notices of retirements, and more funding could become available when the General Assembly approves its budget.
As was proposed during recent budget meetings, central office administrators who are coordinators and above will be furloughed for one week during the upcoming fiscal year.
Mitzel said that the staffing cuts will have a “domino effect” on programming, but at this time, no decisions regarding programming have been made. She also said no core subject teaching positions — math, science, social studies and English — will be impacted by the reduction in force, but that class sizes are expected to increase.
Mitzel said just because a position is eliminated, it does not mean that that position will never come back.
“Given the current financial realities the school division is facing, we are looking forward to a sustainable path. It does not mean it cannot change down the road,” Mitzel said.
Mitzel said anyone affected by the cuts will know by the end of the week. Impacted employees will have a personal meeting with human resources and will be provided with resources to help find other employment.