The School District needs to cut the number tutors to 54 from 71 to help close a budget gap.
"We just can't afford 71 tutors," said Schools Supt. Freeman Burr said.
Tutors became an issue earlier in May and Burr, Board of Education members and a tutor argued that more tutors could mean fewer referrals to special education, leading to lower bills.
One tutor noted that putting standardized on computers is already causing problems and reducing the number of tutors will make it worse for struggling students.
The 54 tutors would be divided into 24 for special education and 30 for the Academic Support Center, Burr said.
According to Burr, the school district requested a $3.1 million increase but received a $1.6 million increase instead.
Still, a recent $200,000 bump from the city and savings from self-insurance, purchasing buses and the city's removal of technology bills will help close the gap. Another factor, the amount of federal aid also remains a question until the end of June.
There are no programming improvements in the gap-closing measure, Burr noted.
The district has already cut secretaries and some staff in addition to not filling vacancies to balance the budget.
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