Teachers and other salaried employees are being spared by the cuts, which are meant to chip away at a district budget deficit of between $15 to $20 million
Newark Public Schools spokeswoman Brittany Chord Parmley said that approximately $5 million in cuts would likely be finalized by the end of the week - split between public elementary schools and high schools. The reductions will not affected salaried employees, she added, and principals have been asked to cut positions that are currently vacant.
The move is meant to chip away at a deficit of between $15 to $20 million announced by Superintendent of Schools Christopher Cerf last month.
"As part of this process, we are asking central office and school-based leaders to explore potential savings to meet this challenge," Parmley said. "As we face these tough decisions, we are committed to closing this gap with the least possible impact to our schools."
Newark Teachers Union President John Abeigon said the reductions would likely result in the loss of after-school programming or facilities improvements, which still affect a teacher's ability to perform.
He also said the cuts could feel misleading to parents, many of whom attend meetings hosted by principals to go over each school's budget before students returned to school last week.
"Does the principal have to have another meeting with community, or does the community hot have a say in this second round?" he said.
While principals have been instructed to target vacant positions in their school, it is unclear how many remain across the district. Cerf recently placed more than 200 teachers who had previously been without a permanent assignment back to regular duty, and district officials said a qualified teacher has been placed into every classroom.
Charter schools operating in Newark are not subject to the cuts, according to Parmley. While the schools receive money from the district based on their per-pupil spending, all charter development and funding is controlled by the state.
How the district will make up the remaining $10-$15 million deficit also remains to be seen. Abeigon said many schools were already operating without key personnel such as clerks, leading him to believe it would eventually be left with little choice but to thin the ranks of teachers.
"You have security guards picking up the phone. So how much more can they cut?" he said.
Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
