Process begins to eliminate 11 Southwestern teachers in Jefferson County

The Southwestern school board started the process Tuesday to eliminate 11 teaching jobs to cope with the loss of $1 million. The reduction-in-force action was not final.

Six jobs would be cut at the elementary school with the elimination of art, music and physical education programs and cuts to the computer lab and library. A sixth-grade teacher would be cut and the middle and high school, along with teachers in the math, special education, language arts and science departments.

Southwestern Schools will lose $150,000 from the "de-ghoster" grant, $244,000 in the small-schools grant and $669,000 from the restoration grant. The General Assembly made the cuts for this school year.

Steve Bright, the physical education teacher at the middle school, opted to take the early retirement incentive of $25,000, which will be paid to his retirement plan before July 1. Bright was the only one of nearly 30 teachers who were offered early retirement to take the incentive this year.