Brookings School District issues reduction-in-force notices as budget shortfall prompts staffing changes

At a school board meeting on April 14, Brookings School District 05-1 placed three employees on reduction-in-force notices as the district seeks roughly $1 million in budget efficiencies, Superintendent Dr. Summer Schultz told Brookings Radio.

Dr. Schultz said the district's recent boundary realignment reduced staffing needs at three elementary buildings and careful changes to middle-school schedules allowed administrators to reduce positions "without cutting any programs." "We did put three individuals on what's called reduction in force," she said, adding that the notices preserve those teachers' rights to return to openings for which they are certificated.

The superintendent said teachers must be informed about their employment status by April 15 under state statutory rules: "teachers need to be identified and know if they have a position in a district by April 15th. That's the statutory law," she said.

Dr. Schultz attributed the district's need for efficiencies to rising costs and funding that has not kept pace with inflation. "We've seen rising costs in insurance, rising utility rates, and the state legislature not keeping up with the rate of inflation. The money just isn't there," she said. She estimated the district targeted about $1 million in reductions to cover higher insurance, utilities and transportation fuel and the net revenue effect from graduating large senior cohorts while fewer kindergartners enroll.

The district emphasized it sought to preserve programs while aligning staff to enrollment and instructional needs. Dr. Schultz cited planned staffing changes as examples rather than program eliminations: districtwide art positions would go from eight to seven, and middle-school art positions from two to one, but she said the scheduling adjustments avoid cutting the art program itself.

Dr. Schultz framed the RIF notices as a transparent measure to protect employees' rehire rights: "I like to give them the reduction in force notice rather than just not having them come back because it gives them rights to those positions as soon as they open up for them." She also said contract negotiations and compensation discussions remain forthcoming.

The superintendent urged community understanding of the trade-offs inherent in per-pupil funding, demographic shifts and district budgeting: "We always have to look at the money coming in, the number of students we have, and how we align our staff to meet those two parameters." The board did not announce program eliminations at the meeting; details on specific employees and any formal board vote were not specified in the interview.

Next steps: Dr. Schultz said the district will proceed with contract negotiations and further staffing alignment; the RIF notices preserve recall rights when certified positions reopen.