Seattle’s public school district will likely lay off employees because of financial problems caused by plummeting student enrollments, officials announced this week.
“This week … we’ve issued some notifications to employees about they’re being considered for ‘RIF’ and displacement so that is happening,” said Dr. Brent Jones, the superintendent of the Seattle Public Schools, at a school board meeting on Tuesday. RIF refers to reductions in force, another term for layoffs.
“We’re in that phase right now,” Jones added, according to reports.
The school district said in a recent update that its “structural deficit” has grown to $131 million for the fiscal year and noted that “enrollment has decreased” over the past decade or so while “staff has increased.” What’s more, it notes that “enrollment is anticipated to continue to trend down.”…