AIKEN --- Forty-seven Aiken County School District employees are out of jobs next school year as the district continues to look for ways to save money in the ever tightening budget.
The cuts, which save more than $941,000, affect special education and instructional aides, according to schools Superintendent Beth Everitt.
"Having extra help is always nice, and it does make a difference," Dr. Everitt said. "But instead of three assistants, we could hire one teacher in many cases."
The cuts are the first to eliminate people. Last year 70 positions were eliminated through attrition.
Even with $6.9 million in federal stimulus funds coming to the school district next year, the district will still have $6 million less than last year's approved budget, Comptroller Tray Traxler said Tuesday.
The school board has a $143 million tentative budget approved, but that doesn't include stimulus funds.
The district also received $12.3 million in federal stimulus money this year through Title I and special education funds that has to be spent by September 2010.
While the money saved about 41 positions, Dr. Everitt said, none was left to save the positions cut this week.
Dr. Everitt would not specify which schools absorbed cuts, but said all five attendance areas were affected. Aides employed based on students' individual education plan will stay on with the district.
School district attorney Bill Burkhalter said employees were referred to the One-Stop Career Center.
If new positions are added or one opens up, those let go would be the first considered to fill the spot, he said.
Reach Julia Sellers at (706) 823-3424 or julia.sellers@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
I feel certain that there were a few of the useless pseudo-administrative positions that could have been eliminated in favor of keeping just a few of the aides that were actually helping students; especially those in the special ed classrooms. ALL of the retired teachers, now double dipping at the trough, should have been the first to go (and stay gone). GGpap
GGpap - maybe you don't know that those retired teachers get NO benefits paid from the county, yet they continue to pay fullly into the SC retirement system to help keep it solvent and they will NEVER get any of that back. They came back at the request of the state when it was short of teachers and begging them, not because they wanted to double dip.
Alonzo, yo have to over look the pap put out by GGpap.
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