Portland Public Schools to Cut Jobs Again

Job cuts are coming to the workers of the Portland Public Schools. The schools are going to cut back on the number of teachers in the school. The Superintendent of the Portland Public Schools, one Carole Smith, released a budget that would require the teaching jobs to be cut, along with the closing of about two schools.

If that sounds a little but harsh to you then you will have to consider the fiscal situation that the school was in. The schools website has a little bit more information about the fiscal situation. Here is an excerpt from the budget proposal posting on the schools website:

“…balances a $27.5 million general fund shortfall with a combination of: reductions in school staffing (that will unavoidably affect class sizes and course offerings), deep reductions to central academic and operational supports and the use of reserves.”

Of course, this is not the first time that the Portland schools have made serious job cuts to make ends meet. For those of you who missed out on our earlier coverage here is an excerpt from that earlier coverage:

“Portland, Oregon — A statewide funding cut of 9 percent has left Portland Public Schools with a $19 million hole in its budget for the coming year. Up to 180 teacher jobs were at one time on the chopping block, but the district has opted to cut only 120 jobs. The layoffs will save about $13 million, leaving the rest to be filled in by federal funds that haven’t yet materialized. Special education positions will be hardest hit by the cuts. 60 special education positions are currently set to be eliminated.

Board co-chairwoman Ruth Adkins said she was pleased that fewer teachers would be losing their jobs than had initially been feared, but warned that in such a dismal economic climate more layoffs are likely next year. ”

Then more cuts were made to the schools employees in the recent past for those of you missed out on it here is a look at those cuts:

“Oregon’s Eugene School District 4J informed employees Tuesday that 124 potential layoffs were coming down the pike.  Both teachers and other classified and licensed staff in the district would be affected by the layoffs, which may lead to reassigned staff and larger class sizes.

The potential job cuts come on the heels of an August Congress education job bill that will help keep educators.  The union contract hammered out in June stated that as the district received additional funding, school days would be added back to the year, which had previously been reduced to avoid layoffs.  The issue at hand is that while Federal funding may have increased, the State of Oregon’s projected revenues are dropping, which more than offsets the new federal funding.”

So as you can see these cuts are not a one time hit to the schools, they are more like a part of a long-term series of hits to the school system. As the losses keep mounting up you have to wonder what kind of education those children are going to get?