Still Unknown If New Schedule Will Bring Teacher Cuts

Winnacunnet High School administrators and officials haven't yet determined whether the newly-passed six-block day will bring staffing layoffs next fall.

Cuts were discussed as a possibility earlier this year while the Winnacunnet School Board vetted the new schedule format, which was passed last week and will kick in at the start of the 2014-2015 school year.

Winnacunnet School Board Chairman Chris Muns said told Patch this week, though, that any determinations about staffing changes for 2014-2015 would be made during the budgeting process this fall. He also said that any budget that calls for personnel cuts would ultimately have to be approved by voters in March before those changes could take effect.

"There was no discussion of specific cuts that may or may not need to be made," said Muns in an e-mail to Patch about last week's meeting on the six-block schedule. "We did touch on the fact that as part of our three year budget setting process we will be looking at what the educational plan will need to be and staffing is an important part of that process."

School Adminstrative Unit 21 Superintendent Bob Sullivan said back in June that Winnacunnet High School could have a surplus of teachers once the six-block day and "4-4-4" teaching schedule begins.

Sullivan said the addition of two teaching periods per teacher per each school year could either keep current staffing levels the same or possibly render some positions unnecessary, which he said means WHS could streamline staffing numbers by redistributing duties throughout the building.

"If you add everything up [between departments and the number of teaching blocks], potentially we could reduce the staff by an equivalent of up to two teachers," said Sullivan. "It could be less. There clearly will not be any increases in teaching staff as we move toward a six-period day, and there could be a staffing [decrease] of possibly up to two teachers."

The six-block day could have "no contractual impact at all," though, said Sullivan in June, that t if administrators, teachers and the school board can come to an understanding about staff duties under the new schedule format.