Superior School District Announces Additional Layoffs

The Superior School District has announced they will undertake another round of layoffs one month after their original layoff announcement.

According to a Northern News Now report, 40 district staff members were informed that they would be losing their jobs this week. The news comes about one month after the school district notified 25 teachers that their positions were being eliminated.

This recent round of layoffs will mostly affect paraprofessionals and support staff in the school district. The decision was reportedly made in an effort to maintain the district’s more successful programs with less staff.

Much like many school district across Wisconsin, the Superior School District has run into budget issues in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Tuesday’s election had 93 total school referendum questions from across the state on the ballot, with about half of them passing. Many of those referendum questions simply asked residents of their school districts to provide more operational funding so that the schools could avoid layoffs and cutting programs and services.

According to District Superintendent Dr. Amy Starzecki, the budget issues stem from decreased enrollment in the schools, inflation, and the expiration of federal funding that was available during the pandemic.

When the original announcement was made one month ago, Superintendent Starzecki noted that the district had 500 fewer elementary school students than it did before the pandemic. Now, she says the district is facing a $4.5 million deficit next school year.

In addition to the layoffs, the Lake Superior Elementary School will also be closed this summer.