Tippecanoe County schools postpone cutting as many as 150 teachers to reduce budget

Tippecanoe School Corp. delayed making a decision Wednesday to cut as many as 150 teachers -- 20.5 percent -- from its staff as it seeks to reduce its budget by $7.8 million this year.

After hearing comments from more than a dozen teachers, parents and students, the school board voted unanimously to table the motion to start the reduction in force, or RIF, process for 12 days -- until a Feb. 22 special board meeting.

Superintendent Scott Hanback recommended the delay to give the district time to explore some of the ideas presented, to wait out some potential legislation that could offer relief, and to see if there are other concessions from the teaching staff that could lessen the staffing cut needed.