The layoffs city school officials talked about all spring just got real. More than 150 Baltimore City school district employees got notice that their position would be eliminated on Wednesday.
In a press release, the administrators said some new positions will be created to offset the cuts. But in the end, 119.2 positions will end up eliminated. (The .2 accounts for part-time employees). Another 16 people were reassigned.
The layoffs are all positions at the district office, and are not teacher positions, CEO Gregory Thornton has said.
The school system faced a huge budget hole, which was made worse by state education cuts. All told, the district faced a $108 million gap.
“Making the decision to eliminate staff positions is a very challenging thing to do,” Thornton said in a statement. “But it is necessary not only to balance the budget for the upcoming year, but to put the district on the path to financial stability for the long term.
