Local

42 teaching positions cut in Lincoln County

LINCOLN COUNTY — There will be 34 teaching positions and eight teacher assistants positions cut in Lincoln County Schools for the 2016-2017 school year, according to the Lincoln County Board of Education.

The board approved a reduction in force process on Tuesday because:

  • Positions funded with federal stimulus dollars in 2009 that were maintained through the local fund balance have been diminished
  • Reductions in state funding totaling $3.7 million since 2008
  • Additional state restrictions regarding the use of funding
  • Decrease in K-12 student enrollment

"We are currently in a position where we have no choice but to reduce our personnel," Sherry Hoyle, superintendent of schools, said. "Our funding has decreased from the state level and the local fund balance has diminished. Our students have benefited from smaller class sizes, but the financial reality is that we can no longer pay for additional personnel."

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