Wake schools rehire many who were let go

RALEIGH -- Wake County school leaders are warning that larger class sizes and fewer courses will still be common even though they've rehired more than 900 of the nearly 1,500 teachers and other employees let go this summer.

School administrators painted a mixed picture on Wednesday as they explained to school board members the impact of a new state budget that cut Wake's funding by $35 million.

While administrators credited conservative planning with putting them in a position to rehire many employees, they said belt-tightening measures will be noticeable.

"There are fewer people working with more kids," said Superintendent Del Burns. "Class sizes will be larger. Fewer classes will be offered at the secondary level and services will be impacted."

The state budget adopted last week cuts $225 million from K-12 education funding, a reduction of about 4.8 percent.

In anticipation of a possible 5 percent state cut, the school system adopted austerity measures for the coming school year.

Principals were told to fill only 95 percent of their positions. This is resulting in school schedules with larger and fewer classes, such as electives and arts courses.

In addition, Wake did not automatically rehire the 1,496 employees whose contracts expired June 30. Many of those affected are teachers.

More could return

Stephen Gainey, assistant superintendent for human resources, said Wake has rehired 911 of those 1,496 employees. He said the number of rehires will continue to rise as traditional-calendar schools that start Aug. 25 fill out their vacancies.

Just Friday, Wake elementary school principals were given the go-ahead to hire 92 teachers.

"We've still got more opportunities for bringing back people," Gainey said. "It's working out as good as it can with this situation."

One of the frequent themes from Wednesday's budget discussion is that schools in Wake will be operating with fewer resources.

School officials are still reviewing how a $1.9 million state cut in transportation funding might affect bus service.

They also downplayed expectations about the benefits that will come from federal stimulus money.

The state substituted $35 million of its funding to Wake with federal stimulus money.

Wake will also directly receive $45 million in federal stimulus money over the next two years, with much of it going toward programs benefitting special-education students and high-poverty schools. For instance, Wake has hired math coaches to work with teachers at high-poverty elementary schools and is adding pre-kindergarten classes.

Gov. Beverly Perdue has urged school districts to use the stimulus money to save teacher jobs. She's requiring school districts to tell her how they're spending the federal dollars.

But Wake school officials are cautioning against relying too much on stimulus money that is guaranteed only for two years.

"How can we maintain something that might not be around in two years?" said school board member Eleanor Goettee.