Jones County Schools lose 15 teachers

TRENTON — It has been described as a cliff, a deep drastic cut in education spending. Administrators have known, for at least two years, without significant economic recovery they would be forced to do more than ever — meeting new state and federal requirements — with fewer resources.

Even with long-term planning, Jones County Schools, like most — if not all — systems around the state, have had to reduce teacher allotment numbers.

The cuts — approximately 10 percent less state funding — are not easy for school officials to swallow, especially when the system only employed about 150 teachers before the latest moves.

In total, 15 teaching positions have been eliminated from the system, either through attrition or layoffs. Executive Director of Human Resources Otis Smallwood said five teachers retired and two left for personal reasons, but eight were “let go.”

“(Schools) are going to have to do more work with less people,” Smallwood said. “People are going to have to double and triple up; not only will they be teaching but they will have other responsibilities. There are not enough people to spread the load out.”

The county’s four elementary schools — Comfort, Maysville, Pollocksville and Trenton — were the least impacted by the cuts. Smallwood said most of the schools only have one class per grade, although he did not rule out the possibility of some combination classes being necessary.

The county’s middle school and high school will take the brunt of teaching cuts.

Even with the cuts, Superintendent Michael Bracy considers the system “fortunate” to be in the position it is in now. Larger classes are an expected result in the budget cuts, but Bracy admits the system had many smaller than average classes that can help weather the influx of students.

Although he acknowledges the cuts are not a desired situation, he doesn’t believe it should slow the county’s progress in the classroom.

“We’ve got a strong team,” Bracy said. “I don’t think we will see a drop in test scores. What we’ve done the last three or four years, the impact is really at the school level.”

He added student and teacher expectations are a big factor in maintaining progress.

Along with cutting teaching positions, Smallwood said every line item in the budget took a cut, including textbooks, instructional supplies and professional development.

Teacher assistants, which were previously salaried employees, will now be hourly employees and limited to 7.5 hours per day. It’s a move Bracy said will help preserve the classroom and save positions.

One thing the system will have going for it is experience. Smallwood said the system has added new teachers over the summer but all arrive with teaching experience.

“Pretty much every area is affected,” he said. “One thing we’ve had success with is our teachers gel together well.”

Justin Hill can be reached at 252-559-1078 or jhill@freedomenc.com. Follow him on Twitter @mjhill.