Five city schoolteachers lost their jobs Thursday night as the struggling economy and decreases in state funding continue to adversely affect the local education community.
During a 10-minute special meeting of the Shelbyville Central Schools Board, members voted unanimously, with Dr. James Rees absent, not to renew the teaching contracts for two semi-permanent and three nonpermanent positions.
According to SCS Superintendent David Adams, the reduction in force will save the corporation between $250,000 and $300,000 in the coming school year.
At the end of last year, officials with the Indiana Department of Education ordered budget cuts from all of the state’s public school districts, and Shelbyville’s share amounted to about $1.08 million out of its $24.2 million general fund. School officials quickly transferred $1 million of the corporation’s nearly $2 million rainy-day money to the general fund to make up for the budget shortfall.
In late February, SCS officials proposed more than $1 million in immediate and permanent budget cuts from this year’s general fund. At that time, Adams said corporation officials planned to cut $538,766 from certified personnel and another $474,036 from noncertifieds, for a total cut in the general fund of about $1,012,802.
Adams said he is confident the cuts will not result in larger classroom sizes for the city’s schools.
He noted that unlike in other school districts in the surrounding counties, no academic or extracurricular programs are being cut. Also, he said, the corporation was not implementing “pay to play” or starting to charge students and parents for transportation costs. However, he offered a warning that the future holds no guarantees.
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