Fort Worth ISD will slash staff positions, but teachers will be spared
FORT WORTH, Texas - The Fort Worth ISD Board decided to not cut teachers from its staff in this round of layoffs, but it has not said who or which departments will see the cuts.
Just like many others in North Texas, the school district is dealing with declining enrollment and a tighter budget.
The school board made the decision Tuesday night after discussing the proposal in executive session for three hours.
Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Angelica Ramsey confirmed classroom teachers are not part of the cuts but did not go into which departments will face cuts.
Ramsey says the district is facing a $43.6 million budget deficit. She blamed this on top of declining enrollment, federal money running out and a failure to increase public school funding in the legislature for the budget cuts.
Now that the vote is final, Ramsey says she plans to start notifying the affected employees on Wednesday.
"We want to make sure they hear from us," she said "So we'll be communicating with them starting tomorrow with meetings in person. We don’t want them to read about it or hear about it tonight."
Ramsey did not share a specific number of employees that will be impacted. She did share that the district has a lot of vacancies.
There will be an internal job fair set up for those affected employees to find other opportunities within the district.
Featured
Fort Worth ISD approves study on potential school closures amid enrollment decline
The study will analyze Fort Worth ISD's operations costs, student costs, staffing structures and building capacity. It will cost the school district $2 million.
Ramsey emphasized that the district prioritized students when coming to this decision. She says the district will share more information on Friday.