Job Cuts Loom at Schools in Forth Worth, Texas

Some school district workers at Forth Worth, Texas are about to face unemployment as state officials announced plans to cut the budget for public education amid the financial crisis in Texas. State Legislatures warned various school administrators that the slated budget cuts in public education would be higher than originally planned. The budget cut is expected to impact the funding for pre-kindergarten, arts education, teacher incentive pay, college financial aid to students and as well as other school staff. The cut, which is approximately $75 million to $80 million, is in response to a budget crisis in Texas. The cuts are slated over the next two years.

Superintendent Melody Johnson said that removing some of its school district staff is necessary due to the state’s financial crisis. Johnson explained that Fort Worth school district is spending around 85% of its budget to pay for its personnel; therefore, the budget cut would mostly affect the school’s workforce. “This is plain talk about a grave situation. I think you deserve that kind of honesty from me. But, I also think you deserve an aggressive plan of action to preserve the accomplishments of the past few years. I want you to know we are not rolling over and accepting as inevitable all of the dire predictions.” School administrators plan to draft their recommendations to the trustees by next month.

Johnson added that all school district staff would be aware on the latest update on the crisis. She said that the district has recently launched a special website called “Make Education a Priority” that would ensure that all employees would be updated on the issue. Some of the features of the site include an area to directly communicate with Chief Financial Officer Hank Johnson to air their questions and suggest their alternative plans on facing the impending cut. The site also includes contact information of local legislators plus updates on how other districts are facing the crisis.