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The board of trustees for the San Antonio Independent School District voted on Monday to eliminate at least 32 positions at the end of the school year. The roles being eliminated are concentrated in the district’s central office. Most of the affected employees are tasked with writing curriculum.
Deputy Superintendent Shawn Bird told trustees the district no longer needs employees to write curriculum because the district plans to use instructional materials approved by the state.
“So that job is changing. It's changing from an instructional specialist to a curriculum implementation specialist,” Bird said. “There were about 60 people in those positions. There will be 30 positions that are now available.”
Chief Talent Officer James Harrell told the board the switch from instructional specialist to curriculum implementation specialist would require the employees to work 13 more days for about the same amount of pay.
“The actual duties have changed very substantively,” Harrell said. “They'll no longer be writing curriculum, but rather kind of supporting the implementation of high-quality instructional materials.”
“The reason we're changing their calendar so they'll work more days is because we need them in the summer to do new teacher orientation, to do principal training,” Bird added.
Trustees also approved eliminating new teacher support positions and specialists tasked with social emotional learning and restorative practices.
“There are currently eight of those people in the district,” Bird said. “Those were also offered the opportunity to apply [for the new curriculum implementation positions] because they’re all certified teachers.”
A director of campus interventions and an executive director of college and career initiatives position are also being eliminated.
Bird said the work in all those areas would still be done, but by fewer people in fewer roles.
“Last year, as you know, we closed 14 campuses, so we just need fewer people at the central office to support the work at the schools,” Bird said, adding that SAISD has a structural budget deficit that they’re working to reduce.
Trustees thanked Bird and Harrell for their work finding places to cut, and they thanked the affected employees for their hard work too.
“I just want to acknowledge that these are human beings who are doing great work in our school system, and it's not a decision that we take lightly when we make these kinds of changes,” Trustee Sarah Sorensen said.
Bird said some of the affected employees have already applied for open assistant principal roles with the district.
“All of these people have some of the most in demand certifications for our district,” Harrell said. “We can't — we're not guaranteeing them a job, but there's so many opportunities that exist … and we do want them to stay.”
TPR first reported on these job cuts March 4. At the time, SAISD officials said the cuts will help the district meet its goal of reducing next year’s budget by $17 million.
