EAST CHICAGO — The East Chicago School Board voted to lay off 112 people at its meeting Monday night.
East Chicago schools Superintendent Paige McNulty said the cuts are the direct result of a decline in student enrollment, of more than 400 students in the 2016-17 school year and voters' rejection of a general fund referendum during a special election in May.
McNulty said the lack of additional operating money is going to impact all areas of the school district.
“We did not want to make these reductions, but we also had no choice as we prepare for the 2017-18 school year," she said. "Our school children, their families and the taxpayers in our community deserve additional funding from the state government and our community.
"Unfortunately, we cannot project additional funding from either before we start school in a few months. The School Board directed me to make cuts to ensure we were financially viable moving forward," McNulty said.
The superintendent also said there were staff laid off from every department, including administrators.
"We have lost 420 students and have called the students’ parents who are coming here from out-of-district right now, and they plan on enrolling in their new district for this year. They just wanted to finish out the year with us. We will have lost 470 children altogether," McNulty said.
East Chicago School Board Vice President Vanessa Hernandez-Orange said the five-member board is responsible for making sure that children receive a quality education.
"We cannot do that if we keep working with a major deficit and continue to keep personnel in positions without adequate funding," she said in a news release.
"It is not fair to the kids, to their families and to our community. Some school districts continue to operate in the red and ignore the need to make changes to stay afloat. We will not do that — it is not fiscally or morally responsible. Based on my own personal experience, I understand, making the choice to reduce staff is extremely difficult. Unfortunately, with the loss of more than 400 students it is hard to continue to work at our current budget. I do not want to put our district in a situation where we will not be able to pay wages or have to cut programs for our students”
There was talk that there would be some sort of a walkout by teachers and staff at various East Chicago schools on Monday, but that did not materialize.
The voters turned down the May referendum which asked taxpayers to pay an additional 30 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to raise nearly $41 million over seven years.
School leaders have said repeatedly they've taken many steps to maintain a balanced budget, but the issue regarding lead in the West Calumet area created some unexpected problems this school year.
McNulty closed Carrie Gosch Elementary School a week before school was scheduled to start in August as a result of the lead and arsenic problems in the West Calumet Housing Complex. Those students were moved to the former West Side Middle School, which was renamed the new Carrie Gosch.
The Indiana Department of Education approved a $2.8 million disaster relief loan in the fall, but it could only be used for the new Carrie Gosch school, not for the operational budget.
McNulty said the district is doing everything it can to help itself financially, including selling empty school buildings.