School District to Approve 43 Preliminary Layoff Notices Monday

The Menomonee Falls School Board will meet Monday and approve 43 preliminary layoff notices to teaching staff, but that total could grow to 65 depending on how things shake out in Madison.

Regardless of the outcome of the budget repair bill, the district was still planning to issue about 40 preliminary layoff notices as a result of a $1.7 million budget shortfall next year. Declining enrollment and state aid will mean less revenue to the district, but expenses will hold steady.

However, much remains unknown regarding cuts to education in Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal and the future of the budget repair bill. The district could lose $500 in revenue per student, and may face a deficit as deep as $3.3 million.

In the worst case scenario, Superintendent Keith Marty said the district may be forced to issue up to 65 preliminary layoff notices, and actually layoff 20 to 25 full time equivalent (FTE) staff positions.

In the last School Board meeting, Marty said between 12 and 18 FTE could be cut by May 15, which is the deadline to issue final layoff notices.

“The number of preliminary layoff notices would have been high without the budget bill, but I don’t want to scare people before we know what we are dealing with, ” said Superintendent Keith Marty. “We’ve been in a mode of dealing with budget deficits for a few years now.”

Districts across the state are expecting deep cuts in education funding in Walker’s budget proposal. Marty said passage of the budget repair bill could free up extra money to retain teachers since it would defer some pension and insurance costs shouldered by the district to the teachers.

However, Marty said anticipated cuts in Walker’s budget combined with the failure to pass the budget repair bill could make the situation more difficult.

“We need to have a state budget very soon so we can know what we are dealing with. We have contract obligations and people obligations,” Marty said. “When it gets into March, we really need to have some answers.”

Last year, the district issued 40 preliminary notices, and roughly 30 the year before that. The district met with representatives of the Menomonee Falls Education Association this week, and extended the deadline to issue preliminary layoff notices from March 1 to March 31.

“Our teachers have really been very willing to work with us for the district’s benefit and for their benefit,” Marty said.

Marty said the preliminary layoff notices would be given to teachers based on certification levels and the date they were hired with the district. Marty said they would spread layoffs across content areas, but elementary certified teachers with the least experience would likely see the brunt of the layoffs. Not matter what happens in Madison, there will be a significant reorganizing of staff next year.

“We’ve been here and have been able to balance budgets. We can balance again, but it won’t be easy,” Marty said.