Galesburg Reporter

Galesburg School District 205 is considering reducing its non-teaching staff to offset projected revenue losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The consideration to reduce staff comes after being told the district may only have six months of funding for the 2020-21 school year as the state's Evidence Based state funding is still unknown, according to the Register-Mail. The district said property tax revenue may only reach 80% of what it normally is. Without knowing if schools will be receiving federal grants, financial decision need to be made. 

Only non-teaching staff would be reduced. During a special school board meeting, three options were proposed: continue normally in the hopes that funding will remain the same; reduce non-teaching staff and call workers back as needed; or ask for a Reductions in Force (RIFs) extension deadline, which are currently due 30 days before the start of the school year. 

Employees who could be part of staff reductions are nurses, secretaries, custodians and food service staff. RIF staff are allowed to be called back to work if the opportunity to do so arises.

Any SCIU Union staff, such as maintenance workers and custodial staff, need to receive a 30-day notice before being reduced. GEA staff such as nurses and secretaries have to be notified of the reduction by this year's deadline of July 1. 

Identified staff reductions would save about $3.1 million for the schools, according to the Register-Mail. 

Galesburg School District Superintendent John Asplund told the Register-Mail that reducing staff isn't ideal, but could be more beneficial the sooner it is done, because the RIF workers would receive unemployment benefits during the summer. 

“We don’t want to let go of anybody, but right now with so many unknowns, we at least have to seriously consider it,” Asplund told the Register-Mail. 

If the district did reduce the staff, Asplund said some staff will return. 

“We would definitely be calling some people back," Asplund told the Register-Mail.