ST. CHARLES COUNTY 鈥 A reduction of about 80 Francis Howell School District jobs, half of them teachers, would occur in the next school year under a plan presented Thursday night.
The proposal was submitted to the school board by district administrators to help deal with a projected $22 million revenue shortfall.
Other spending cuts will be recommended later as well. District officials also are considering asking voters to approve a property tax increase, as soon as next August.
Steve Griggs, the district鈥檚 chief human resources officer, said he expected that the 鈥渧ast majority鈥 of the job cuts, perhaps all of them, could be achieved by attrition as employees retire or leave for other jobs.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 certainly our hope,鈥 he said.
He said about half the reductions would be among certified staff, primarily teachers. The remainder, he said, would be support workers.
People are also reading…
He said the staffing reductions would save the district about $4.2 million.
Kevin Supple, the district鈥檚 chief financial officer, said underfunding of the state school foundation formula by the Missouri Legislature is part of the problem.
He also pointed out that the district鈥檚 property tax rate dropped this year 鈥 by 20 cents per $100 assessed valuation.
That鈥檚 because the 20-cent portion was approved only for a predetermined number of years, officials said.
The board didn鈥檛 make a decision on the job cuts Thursday but may do so next month. Eric Seider, the school board president, said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 always sad when we have to make these tough decisions.鈥
Randy Watson, a district resident who spoke at the meeting, contended that the size of pay raises given teachers in recent years was a main reason for the district鈥檚 financial problems.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the money to do this,鈥 Watson said of the raises in an interview.
