Monroe County Community School Corp. will not lay off any teachers during the 2025-2026 school year, the corporation announced Wednesday, June 18.
Fairview Elementary teacher Kelly O’Brien talks to a student in her classroom on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024.
The announcement comes as MCCSC continues to reduce staff and centralize services during a time of economic uncertainty for the corporation. Between declining enrollment and state budget reductions, MCCSC is bracing to lose tens of millions of dollars in revenue over the next few years. The latest state budget bill is anticipated to cost the corporation $17 million in lost property tax revenue between 2025 and 2028.
“I am proud that to-date, we have been able to keep as many position eliminations as possible outside of our classrooms,” MCCSC Superintendent Markay Winston said in a press release. “Our team has worked diligently and thoughtfully to minimize direct impacts on students and teachers, and because of this work, we are moving in the right direction.”
Monroe County Community School Corp. Interim Superintendent Markay Winston welcomes students to their first day of school at Fairview Elementary on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024.
In May, MCCSC announced that it had eliminated 61 support staff positions, with at least 22 more positions “identified” for removal in the future. In total, those 83 positions make up approximately 4% of the corporation’s workforce.
MCCSC says other staff reductions expected; 29 teachers have resigned or retired since February
MCCSC’s teacher’s union, the Monroe County Education Association, had previously encouraged the corporation to adopt a written reduction in workforce policy with the union if cuts to teaching staff were expected. While the announcement is a sigh of relief for teachers and parents, MCCSC indicated that further staff reductions could be on the way.
“Because payroll expenses account for approximately 85% of the corporation’s total budget, future position reductions will likely be necessary to balance staffing with student enrollment,” the press release said.
MCCSC also has employed a strategy of “natural attrition” since February, carefully reassessing and selectively backfilling the positions of employees who resign or retire.
A total of 198 employees have resigned or retired since MCCSC employed its cost-cutting financial plan in February; 29 of those were teaching positions.
Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com. Follow him on X/Twitter at @brianwritesnews.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: MCCSC says no teacher layoffs in 2025-26, other staff reductions expected