Washoe County school trustees eliminate 30 jobs

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Washoe County school trustees have agreed not to rehire 30 teachers, counselors and librarians for the next school year because of budget cuts.

The positions, with benefits, account for almost $1.3 million and would be filled only if state financial support is more than expected.

District officials expect to cut $6 million to $23 million from the next budget. They submitted a draft budget draft to the state April 15 with $20.2 million in cuts for the year that starts July 1.

Many of the teachers who would not be rehired are certified in limited and specialized areas, such as music, and don't have credentials to fill existing vacant positions, Superintendent Jim Hager said. State law requires the district to inform employees by May 1 if a contract might not be renewed.

"Given our time frame, we had no other recourse," Hager said.

He said positions could be reinstated if state lawmakers allocate more revenue than predicted to education or if district trustees change the budget.

"It depends on what action the board takes on its final budget and when they find out what money will come from the Legislature," said Virginia Doran, executive director of the Washoe Education Association.

"We're at the mercy of the Legislature."

Comments

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Sign in to comment