Rockford Public Schools is cutting more than 100 positions as it deals with a $15 million budget deficit.
RPS Superintendent Ehren Jarrett says costs have risen significantly over the past few years. The district also increased social-emotional support coming out of the pandemic.
"Unfortunately, that's how you go from a budget surplus to a budget deficit pretty quickly," he said. "And unfortunately, the only way to get ahead of this was to cut back on some staff."
Jarrett says none of the cuts are teaching positions. They’ve reduced 12% of the district’s central office staff and 4% of “nonteaching” roles, like attendance specialists and academy coaches.
He also says some certified staff who were laid off will move into open teaching positions.
A statement from the Rockford Education Association — the local union that represents the district's professional staff — says the budget problem "stems from years of mismanagement and administrative bloat," and that they believe cost savings could have been found elsewhere.
The $15 million deficit is about 3% of Rockford Public Schools' budget.
It’s not the only district reckoning with multi-million dollar deficits this spring. Belvidere is too. Naperville 203's school board voted down a plan to cut staff due to their deficit. And Harlem is closing two elementary schools.
Copy Edited by Eryn Lent
