It’s unlikely that the Rochester City School District will have to layoff teachers as it deals with a $30 million budget deficit, due to the number of currently vacant positions.
Rochester Teacher Association President Adam Urbanski said that the district superintendent has instituted a hiring freeze and job consolidation, a move the district supports.
“The district is yet to determine what additional steps they will take to achieve savings and cost reductions,” Urbanski continues in a letter sent to teachers Wednesday morning. “Some of these may be management prerogative and some would have to be negotiated with the respective unions representing those affected.”
The teachers will “support only those that are good for students and also fair to teachers,” he said. “And we will not make any definitive conclusions about the district’s budget until all the audits and investigations, including the NYC Comptroller’s, are completed.”
The district’s financial shortfall came to light last month and was originally projected to be $50 million. Superintendent Terry Dade said “some overspending” had occurred, leading to the discrepancy.
On Tuesday, the state budget office sent a letter to Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren suggesting both the city and state “exercise their existing authority” to bring the district’s budget in line.