Adams 12 Five Star Schools Cuts $30M From Budget
THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4)- Adams 12 Five Star Schools is cutting $30 million from its budget for the 2011-2012 school year. Adams 12 Five Star Schools is the fifth largest school district in Colorado.
"It hurts me for the employees who have been great and dedicated servants for kids and care about them deeply, but it really hurts me in terms of the quality of education that are kids will have as well," Adams 12 Schools Superintendent Chris Gdowski.
The cuts announced Wednesday afternoon are in addition to the already $38 million cut from its budget over the past five years.
The plan calls for 185 full-time positions to be eliminated. That includes 135 teachers, 21 administrators, 16 librarians and 10 assistant principals.
The impact includes increased class sizes and reduction in after-school clubs and activities for students.
"We're a community that's very supportive of our schools and these kinds of cuts don't represent our values and priorities," said Cathy Traugott, a representative of the Great Education Colorado-Adams 12 Chapter.
The budget cuts prompted a candlelight vigil in front of the school district's headquarters in Thornton Wednesday evening.
For the 2010-2011 school year, the district cut 188 full-time positions.
Adams 12 Five Star Schools serves nearly 42,000 students in Broomfield, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Thornton and Westminster.
