LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- JCPS's superintendent is painting a picture of what the future of Kentucky's largest school district could look like.

Dr. Brian Yearwood talked about a broad range of topics at Wednesday's Louisville Forum, addressing everything from the budget deficit to regaining community trust.

Earlier this week, the district revealed it has about $2.5 billion in backlogged repairs. That's on top of a $188 million budget deficit.

It's a shortage Yearwood said "didn't happen overnight."

"We received ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) funds during the pandemic, funds that help us hire nurses, purchase busses and provide things like Chromebooks," Yearwood said. "But what didn't happen was a plan for when those funds ended."

Yearwood said he's spent more than two months creating a plan to fix this issue. It's centered on financial stability, academic excellence, and community trust.

He said the district has to cut $132 million from next school year's budget, and that proposal is due in January.

Yearwood said he does not plan to ask taxpayers for more money before looking inward to balance the budget.

He also plans to minimize the impact on school-based staff salaries. This means he does not plan to reduce the base pay for staff who directly work with students, including teachers and bus drivers.

"We will not balance the books by shortchanging our children," Yearwood said. "That's not going to happen. Louisville students deserve a safe and a very high quality learning environment, and we will protect them. We will protect them."

Instead, the district will look at central office reductions. He said his top priority is student growth.

Yearwood also stressed the importance of transparency, accountability, and collaboration to achieve these goals. He believes that's essential to restoring public trust in the school system.

When it came to the possibility of splitting up the district to help with the deficit, Yearwood said that's not something JCPS is considering right now.

Yearwood called the district's size "an asset" and said it's the most cost-efficient option. He points to the fact that if JCPS was broken into smaller districts, taxpayers would need to fund more superintendents and officials, chief academic officers and chief financial officers, because every district has to have those.

While solving those issues is "non negotiable" for Yearwood, so is school safety.

"Students cannot learn and teachers cannot teach if they don't feel safe," he said. "We have taken strong steps, installing things like weapons detection systems, expanding training, maintaining a JCPS Police Department, focusing on relationships, not intimidation."

Yearwood said that's only the beginning. He said the district is reviewing every school's policies to ensure safety, equity, and efficiency.

He believes the goal is simple: that every student and staff member must feel safe in the classroom and beyond.

Because of civil rights violation, JCPS is losing nearly $10 million in federal grants for magnet programs. Yearwood said he's doing everything he can to get that money back.

The $9.7 million Magnet School Assistance Program grant was awarded to JCPS last year, allowing programs at Western High School and Coleridge Taylor Elementary to expand.

Yearwood said the cuts came "without discussion" or clarification from the U.S. Education Office for Civil Rights.

JCPS was actively addressing those concerns, and now the district is "exploring every option" to get the funds back.

"We will exhaust all options," Yearwood said. "Because it's all kids that are suffering, that have suffered from this producing programs that embrace science, technology and so on, engineering and taking that away from our kids."

He wrapped the conversation by vowing to get more kids reading at or above grade level.

More JCPS Coverage:

JCPS warns of $2.5 billion in maintenance needs, rising costs amid budget deficit

$30.2 million Okolona Elementary project begins as JCPS faces budget deficit, aging schools

JCPS aims to cut $132 million in next budget, ensures teacher salaries won't be affected

JCPS superintendent reverses course on audit plan amid $188 million deficit

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