Layoffs At Claiborne Parish Schools

Claiborne Parish schools will eliminate 60 positions -- the majority of them teachers -- because of an anticipated budget shortfall next school year. The School Board has approved layoffs, the elimination of unfilled positions and program cuts and changes. The move is aimed at trimming $2.4 million from the district's $13 million budget. About 40 of those are teaching positions. The others are paraprofessionals and bus drivers. The cuts amount to more than 10 percent of the Claiborne school system's employees. The School Board also approved a hiring freeze, closing the parish alternative school and eliminating the band program at Homer High School. Schools Superintendent Janice Williams said there are no plans at this point to close Athens High School. Claiborne schools have approximately 400 employees; 230 of those are teachers.The superintendent met with employees Tuesday afternoon to discuss what will happen next.  Those who will be laid off have been notified. Student enrollment has sharply dropped in Claiborne schools. The district has lost 102 students in the past year. There are currently 2,019 students enrolled in the parish. Similar financial problems are affecting Webster and Caddo parish schools, where anticipated deficits are behind major school restructuring and consolidations. Marshall, Texas, Independent School District is also laying off employees.