MANSFIELD — The Mansfield City Schools board of education will begin discussing staff cuts in light of a projected $3.3 million spending deficit over fiscal years 2021 and 2022.
The board unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday declaring its intent to consider a reduction in force for licensed/certificated and classified staff.
“The treasurer and superintendent have provided the board with information regarding the current and projected financial condition of the Mansfield City Schools District … and the board has determined that it is necessary to consider a Reduction in Force for financial reasons as a result of the projected budget deficit at the end of this current fiscal year,” the resolution read.
The district’s most recent five-year forecast, completed in November, projects a $1.2 million deficit in fiscal year 2021 and a $2.1 million deficit in fiscal year 2022, superintendent Stan Jefferson said.
“Ohio school law finance law requires us to present a plan to remedy that deficit,” Jefferson told the board. “We believe that we can achieve many of these reductions through attrition and additional efficiencies. But in addition to that, we will have to determine whether we will have to make any staff reductions.”
“We are working with all stakeholders within the Mansfield City Schools to come up with a plan that is in the best interest for our students and minimize the impact to our schools, and to our staff.”
Treasurer Tacy Courtright, who began working for Mansfield City Schools last August, said she has been meeting with principals and administrators throughout the district and looking carefully at district spending.
“We’re looking at contracts, purchased services, materials that we’re buying, subscriptions that we have and staff that we have at the buildings,” she said. “Our budget does remain tight. Funding is very uncertain, we are coming out of a very difficult year with a pandemic.”
Courtright echoed Jefferson, saying the district hopes to cut costs primarily through attrition and resignation.
“We’ve reorganized staff this year to minimize the reductions that we have in the buildings. We have tried to repurpose where we can versus hiring new staff. We do commit to our teachers and the staff and the community to keep them informed along the way,” she said.
Courtright plans to meet with the Mansfield School Employees Association later this week.
Board members and the MSEA president did not respond to email requests for comment on the resolution.
The board also heard a presentation from Dahni Reynolds, the district’s board certified behavioral analyst, on AIM: Accept. Identify. Move., a social emotional curriculum being implemented in the district.
AIM lessons are between 10 and 30 minutes long and will be taught in home rooms, social studies courses or during advisory periods, depending on student grade levels.
Reynolds said the curriculum is designed to address behavioral, social, emotional and psychological needs of students.
The Ohio Department of Education adopted K-12 social, emotional, learning standards in 2019 and updated them last year.
“These standards were a little bit unique in that Ohio has left it up to the local districts to determine how they are addressed and to what extent,” said curriculum director Stephen Rizzo.
The board also approved:
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A contract with Dr. Arianna Howard with Plant-A-Seed Educational Consulting for consulting services during the 2020-2021 school year, not to exceed $19,515, for district staff training in the areas of equity and cultural competency.
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A temporary resolution allowing the employment of substitute teachers with an associate’s degree (rather than a bachelor’s degree) as permitted by Ohio House Bill 409 through the end of the 2020-2021 school year.
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The board will also vote on various personnel items, including the termination of food service worker Jennifer McCollister.
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Various student services contracts, a professional development contract and a reimbursement contract with Mansfield UMADAOP for costs associated with its COVID-19 food delivery program.
