More than 60 school employees will receive letters this week informing them that their positions are being eliminated.
Lynchburg School Board members voted to reduce the Lynchburg City Schools staff by 62.5 positions at their meeting on Tuesday evening in the wake of budget cuts. The vote followed a closed meeting to discuss employee assignments.
School Superintendent Paul McKendrick said for now all of those positions represent jobs to be lost, rather than vacancies or retirements to be left unfilled. The school administration is sending out letters this week to those employees slated to lose their jobs.
McKendrick said school employees should receive those letters by Friday.
The vote made official a round of layoffs discussed during budget talks this year. The division cut its budget by a little more than 10 percent this year to make up for a shortfall in state funding.
School board member Keith Anderson said that he is keeping those affected by the cuts in his prayers.
In other business, McKendrick said that the division should stick with cuts to employee health benefits, rather than requiring current employees to pay into the Virginia Retirement System. According to the Virginia Education Association, Gov. Bob McDonnell said Tuesday that he plans to amend the state budget to remove the option for localities to pass some Virginia Retirement System costs to current employees.
The Lynchburg school board members had previously requested that the school administration inquire about transferring a portion of member contributions to employees for VRS retirement instead of health insurance, out of concern that the health care cuts would have a disproportionate impact on employees who make less money.
McKendrick had previously agreed with the concern but now said the issue seemed to be a moot point given the signals from the governor. School board members declined to take action to amend the 2010-2011 budget, leaving the health care cuts in the division budget.
The provision in the budget had been opposed by the VEA, the Virginia Association of Police and the Virginia Sheriff’s Association on the grounds that it would be unfair to local employees, because state employees would not have been affected.
The Virginia Association of Counties and Virginia Municipal League had argued local governments should have the option of reducing their retirement costs in a tough budget year.
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