MESA, Ariz. — The state's largest school district may have to cut close to 400 positions next year.
At a recent governing board meeting, leadership at Mesa Public Schools said declining enrollment and the end of COVID-19 relief funding have put the district in a position where action needs to be taken.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Las Escuelas Públicas de Mesa buscan eliminar cientos de puestos de trabajo debido a una baja demanda educativa
The enrollment numbers are anticipated to cost the district about $12 million in state funding and the end of COVID-19 relief money will cost about $7 million. To make up for that shortfall, the district is now considering getting rid of 385 positions for the 2024/2025 school year.
A presentation by Scott Thompson, assistant superintendent for business and support services, showed 194 teaching positions being cut, along with 187 "classified" positions, which are made up of bus drivers, front office staff and other non-teaching jobs. However, in an interview with 12News, Thompson said the district isn't looking at cutting bus drivers, which are desperately needed, but teaching assistants.
Four administrative roles are also possibly getting cut.
“These are cuts to our families and our communities and I want to make sure we are doing everything we can,” said board president Marcie Hutchinson.
At the governing meeting, Hutchinson made it clear that she would like current staff to be able to find other similar jobs for the district.
“Gosh darn it, if we could keep them during COVID, we can keep them now,” Hutchinson said.
The district anticipates it will see about 970 fewer students next school year. A similar number was given last year but it turns out the actual number was about double that at 1,700 fewer students.
These are conservative figures, according to Thompson, and could change depending on what the Arizona legislature does regarding education and the Classroom Site Fund, which allocates a percentage of sales tax for teacher's salaries.
Thompson also claimed that teachers are guaranteed a job.
"They just may have to change schools," Thompson said Monday.
About 200 teachers resign a year from MPS and the district will ask current teachers to transfer to a different school to fill those positions. For classified positions, Thompson said those workers will have to find other work but said there are jobs at MPS that may be available to them.
"We're working really hard to get that notice out to folks now, give them opportunities to get other jobs within the district," Thompson said. "We have all kinds of different vacancies, we're also trying to give them opportunities to find a job elsewhere if they're not a teacher."
Thompson made it clear that this shortfall was anticipated, given the overall enrollment decreases not only in Mesa but across the country. He also said this does not mean that MPS is in a crisis.
Informational meetings will be held on Tuesday for teachers and other staff, according to MPS officials.
The end of COVID-19 relief funding is also impacting schools in Surprise.
The Dysart Unified School District governing board voted to eliminate all social worker positions after the 2023-2024 school year, saying there is no other funding source to keep them on staff after Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding runs dry.
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