The Linn-Mar Community School District in Iowa is being compelled to make painful staffing cuts and budget reductions for the 2024-2025 academic year due to fiscal challenges from declining enrollment, expired pandemic relief funds, and insufficient state education funding.
In a letter to district families and staff obtained by KWWL, Superintendent Amy Kortemeyer announced that Linn-Mar will be eliminating 19 full-time teaching positions and 31 full-time classified staff roles – a total of 50 job cuts. The district had already implemented around $3 million in cuts for the current 2023-2024 school year but still faces a $2.5 million budget shortfall for next year that necessitates further reductions.
“Budget cuts of this magnitude are difficult on our entire school district community,” Kortemeyer wrote. “We did not make these decisions lightly, as each staff member provides exceptional value to our students and families. We must take this action due to the financial reality we face.”
Linn-Mar has cited a confluence of financial pressures forcing their hand. COVID-19 relief funds that had provided a short-term budgetary lifeline have now expired.
Simultaneously, years of inadequate increases in state supplemental aid for education have failed to keep up with rising operating costs. And an ongoing decline in student enrollment, which drives per-pupil funding, has exacerbated the budgetary strain.
Despite the staffing cuts, Linn-Mar is striving to minimize impacts to students’ educational experiences. Elementary class sizes are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels of 21-25 students. But district leaders acknowledged the difficult trade-offs.
“We are focused on managing these financial challenges while striving to minimize the impact on our operations and the quality of the educational experience our students receive,” Kortemeyer stated. “However, we must take action to balance our budget and meet our obligation to maintain a healthy financial position.”
The district had previously sought cost-saving measures and staffing attrition, but those efforts proved insufficient to close the $2.5 million gap. With over 80% of Linn-Mar’s budget going towards employee salaries and benefits, the staffing cuts were unavoidable.
Kortemeyer urged families and the community to voice their advocacy for adequate public school funding to state legislators. Linn-Mar aims to “persevere through these challenges together” while providing the best possible education for students despite fiscal constraints.
