School board President Adil Baguirov said DPS found out in the past several weeks that there has been a significant decline in enrollment this year. He blamed several issues, from last year’s stabbing of a student at an elementary school to the proliferation of charter schools and open enrollment policies “that wreak havoc on our finances and suck out major monetary resources from our school district.”
Ohio Department of Education data shows DPS attendance dropped from 16,348 in 2006 to 13,987 in 2010, but then remained fairly steady through last year, with a 2015-16 number of 13,902. ODE has not publicly posted enrollment numbers for this school year.
Corr, who is four months into the job as superintendent, said she brought in a human resources consultant who has studied school staffing levels elsewhere. She said central office will take the hardest hit, “as we should.”
“I promised when I came into this district that I would keep cuts as far away from the classroom as possible, and I’m holding true to that,” Corr said. “We’ve worked with (teachers union president) David Romick, and many of the positions are ones that just won’t be filled, handled by vacancy. There will be administrators (cut). … We want to be as fair as we can.”
The resolution approved by the board Wednesday night cites “a need to reduce the number of administrative personnel,” and says the superintendent will present “her recommendation for abolishment and reduction in force of some administrative positions” at the November board meeting, scheduled for Nov. 17.
The vote was 4-0. Board members Sheila Taylor, Robert Walker and Hazel Rountree were not present.
Corr said the district will follow policy and statutes in working with the teachers union on reductions.
But she also said all DPS staff should start talking about the district’s positives, adding that they “need to start recruiting children back to the schools,” finding out why people are leaving and building better relationships.
“Give us a chance,” Corr said to Dayton residents. “We just got an “A” on our value-added grade. We are moving in the right direction. … Just come back and visit a school.”
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