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School Board Outlines Layoff Plan

William Roberti, Interim Superintendent
(file photo)
William Roberti, Interim Superintendent

By K. Lavery, KWMU

St. Louis, Mo. – Monday, the St. Louis school board will review a proposed budget that cuts more than 1,400 full-time employees.

Under the plan, 370 non-teaching staff would lose their jobs this month, with another 720 positions scheduled to be outsourced to private vendors starting in September.

Gateway High School teacher Byron Clemens opposes the plan. He believes the state of Missouri should audit the district to track down the causes for its reported $90-million deficit.

"One of the things that I know for a fact is that one of the services they want to privatize is food services, and that made a profit; that's where teachers got their raises last time. That's one of the first things that they want to privatize so frankly, I don't believe them," Clemens said.

The district's interim management team says the cuts would save the school system more than $43-million in payroll expenses. The school board will vote on the proposal on Wednesday.

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