Necessary change | JCPS board member explains classroom impact of proposed $142 million in cuts

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jefferson County Public Schools is proposing $142 million in funding cuts, and a significant portion targets support for teachers and students inside the classroom.

Reductions to classroom and teacher supports are embedded in the district’s sweeping budget proposal, and while former employees warn of disruption, current board members say the changes — though uncomfortable — are necessary.

“I hate the fact that we have to make cuts period,” JCPS board member Gail Logan Strange said.

Breakdowns of the district’s 2026–2027 budget proposal were posted online Wednesday. Supplemental and add‑on programs face the second‑largest reductions, with $41 million dollars at risk.

“We have to try some different things,” Logan Strange said, noting that the district’s current approach has not produced academic improvement.

A closer look at the $41 million reduction shows that JCPS’ needs index funding and money for academic instructional coaches could see nearly $33 million in combined cuts.

What can be saved?

“I’ve had several of the principals in my district call and say if you can save anything save the academic instruction coaches because they are making a difference in some of those schools,” Logan Strange said.

Academic instructional coaches analyze student data and help guide teachers’ instructional decisions. That was once the role of Dr. Crystal Olinger, a former JCPS employee.

“They serve a very big role in JCPS and I think that they’re going to feel it when they get those cuts,” Olinger said.

Currently, academic instructional coaches are based in individual schools. Logan Strange said the restructuring plan would move them to the central office and deploy them to schools on an as‑needed basis.

Although Olinger is no longer connected to JCPS, she believes the cuts to teacher support will be disruptive.

“It is going to create mass chaos in what they are trying to do to move their district forward and that’s my opinion based on what I did when I was working at two schools,” she said.

Impact to students

Cuts to needs index funding are also expected to directly affect students. Schools with higher numbers of multilingual learners, students with special education needs, or students from low‑income households receive additional funding to increase equity and support. That money pays for extra classroom and resource teachers based on each school’s needs. It remains unclear how the reductions will play out in classrooms.

“Our goal is to make sure students are kept whole,” Logan Strange said.

She acknowledged that relocating academic instructional coaches to the central office could create disconnect, and other board members have said the impact on students will be unavoidable.

Decisions being made

On Jan. 20, the Jefferson County School Board is expected to review the budget that leaders said is critical to the district's future amid mounting questions about the math behind JCPS' finances. The budget is subject to board approval.

The proposed cuts are: