The Waterloo School District has announced $10 million worth of cuts for next school year and a further $6million the year after that. The cuts for next year include cutting 18 custodian and maintenance positions, 11 teacher librarians, four middle school teachers, three high school teachers, four family support workers, all secondary building substitutes, one administrator, as well as the directors of Career Technical Education, athletics, preschool, and Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. There will also be a freeze to the salaries for all administrators. Transportation for private school students will be eliminated, the elementary and middle school summer school budget will be reduced by $500,000, a reading program called Really Great Reading will be eliminated, out-of-district travel will be reduced at the middle school level, pre-k teacher discretionary spending will be reduced, the cell phone stipend for administrators and support personnel will be cut in half, and the trip to the School Administrators of Iowa conference will be eliminated. The school district spent $40,000 each year on that trip alone. The trip to Lost Island for 5th graders will also be eliminated, they spent $35,000 on that trip. The Beginning of Year Staff T-shirts, which the district spent $20,000 each year, will also be eliminated. Expo High School, which is the alternative school, will be closed at the end of the year. Many of those programs have already been moved to the Central Middle School building with others going to Greenbrier elementary school. In addition to the cuts the district is also proposing a new property tax levy in order to fund the English Language Learners, Special Education, and At-Risk programs. The rate would be increased by nearly $4 per $1,000 of taxable value. The district says that the ending of COVID-19 funding, reduced state funding, and rising inflation have led to the need for these cuts.
