STC’s Budget Reduction and Response to Early Retirement
In November, the STC Board of Education announced a retirement incentive plan as part of an overall budget reduction plan. The response to this plan has been quite large; 29 staff members voluntarily accepted the incentive plan. The staff’s response has greatly reduced the number of positions and contracts that will be reduced in force in order to balance the budget, recover the cash loss, and remain financially stable.
The district will be able to fill several of the vacant positions by transferring and reassigning staff. In several incidences the position eliminated is not necessarily the position that will actually be eliminated. There will be a total of 6.5 teaching positions, 7.5 support staff positions, 1 business office position, and 1 administrative position eliminated in this plan. To the extent possible the staff members impacted by the reduction will be encouraged to transfer to available positions within the district that they are qualified to serve. There are some limitations as to what can be done due to certification requirements and the master contract.