Jackson County School District cuts 76 positions

Rachel Probel and Alyssa Kent read in the Marianna High School Library Friday. The school district said 12.5 staff positions at the high school will be eliminated in the upcoming school year, due to budget constraints.

By: By KATE McCARDELL Floridan Staff Writer | Jackson County Floridan
Published: April 22, 2009

Jackson County School District officials have announced how many positions they plan to eliminate through attrition and layoffs for the 2009-2010 school year.
From a 2008 total of 1,006 instructional and non-instructional positions, a total of 76 positions will be eliminated, according to to school district documents.
“People make up better than 80 percent of our budget, which is extremely tight at this time. We have a very conservative management system in place and we’re doing this to make sure we’re operating within our means,” Superintendent Lee Miller said.
Miller noted that federal stimulus money made it possible for the district to keep 19 positions — about 10 at the elementary level and nine at the high school level — that would have been eliminated otherwise.
Deputy Superintendent Larry Moore said 27 of the 76 positions are vacant and will not be filled. He couldn’t say off-hand how many of the 27 vacancies were instructional or non-instructional.
The district’s current instructional staff of 596 will be reduced by 41 for the coming school year.
Non-instructional staff of 410 will be reduced by 35.
The exact number of positions that will be eliminated by layoffs was not immediately available.
Miller said staffing is determined by student population projections for the coming school year.
“They’re pretty accurate projections, usually by within 10 or 12 students,” Miller said.
The following are school-by-school totals for staff reduction, with staff totals representing the number of both instructional and non-instructional positions:
• Adult Education — Current staff total: 22. Reduction: 6.
• Cottondale Elementary — Current staff total: 56. Reduction: 6.5.
• Cottondale High — Current staff total: 63. Reduction: 3.
• Family Services Center — Current staff total: 17.5. Reduction: 4.5.
• Golson Elementary — Current staff total: 125. Reduction: 9.
• Graceville Elementary— Current staff total: 50.5. Reduction: Zero. One new instructional and two non-instructional positions have been added.
• Graceville High School — Current staff total: 46.5. Reduction: 4.5.
• Grand Ridge School — Current staff total: 71. Reduction: The instructional staff will be reduced by 4.5. Non-instructional will increase by 1.
• Hope School — Current staff total: 53. Reduction: 1.5.
• Jackson Alternative — Current staff total: 45. Reduction: 2.
• Malone School — Current staff total: 70. Reduction: 3.5.
• Marianna High School — Current staff total: 87. Reduction: 12.5.
• Marianna Middle School — Current staff total: 70. Reduction: 5.
• Riverside Elementary School — Current staff total: 73. Reduction: 2.
• Sneads Elementary School — Current staff total: 62. Reduction: 4.
• Sneads High School — Current staff total: 47. Reduction: Instructional will be reduced by 2. There will be an increase in non-instructional of 0.5.
• Sunland School — Current staff total: 38. Reduction: 9.5.
• Headstart— Current staff total: 9.5. Reduction: None.