YAKIMA, Wash.- 62.5 certificated jobs were cut from the Yakima School District in March as the district looked to make up a $20 million budget shortfall.
All of those employees have now been offered another position in the district through a recall process. Superintendent Dr. Trevor Greene says that some offers have been accepted, some have yet to decide, and some have taken jobs outside of YSD.
“We still have some classified that we are working on, but we’re still several months away,” says Dr. Greene. “We’re just grateful that we started the process so early and were able to communicate with out administrators and teachers, paraeducators and all of our staff to make sure they have the opportunity to come back.”
Dr. Greene says the early work prevented any schools from closing as it’s been seen across the country. He adds that a decline in enrollment led to the cut in staff.
“We’re facing a very challenging time in public education with declining enrollment and high inflation,” says the superintendent.
Despite the cuts in staff, YSD says there will still be more staff in the 2024 school year than there was pre-pandemic.
“This fall, we will maintain the third highest staff to student ration in Yakima School District,” says YSD School Board President Norm Walker.
YSD has until the first day of school on August 22 to fill every position with recalled employees or new hires.
