GARY — The Gary Community School Corp. board canceled the contracts of 333 teachers Tuesday as the district continues to battle funding cuts and falling enrollment.
The board is expected to end contracts with an additional 40 first- and second-year teachers at a later date.
However, the actual number of layoffs won’t be determined until this fall when the district’s administration receives firm enrollment numbers.
The teachers, who had contracts cut on Tuesday, have been with the district for at least three years. The cuts were scattered across the district and come at a time when Gary schools are preparing for a reduction in state funds.
Gary’s state funding will fall a projected 19 percent, to $76.6 million, for the next fiscal year. Indiana lawmakers removed funding Gary schools used to receive to cushion its falling enrollment numbers, and the loss of those dollars is complicating the district’s financial situation.
Gary Teachers Union President Carlos Tolliver argued the cuts have ravaged staff morale and would lead to larger class sizes. He contended the union hadn’t received financial data from the district to support “these types of mass reductions.”
“There has been no coherent plan as it relates to staff reductions,” Tolliver said.
Gary School Board President Ken Stalling defended the district by saying teachers were given the opportunity to air concerns.
“We do have communication,” Stalling said. “We knew this was going to be a tough cut.”
Board member Barbara Leek said the district had not cut positions as Gary schools continued to lose students.
“Since 2009, we have not cut staff as enrollment has fallen,” Leek said. “We have been overstaffed for about three years that’s why the cuts are so great.”