LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The Jefferson County Board of Education approved cuts to its disability services division Tuesday, finalizing the district’s central office reduction plan.
The decision followed weeks of debate and earlier pushback from the board that forced JCPS leaders to scale back proposed cuts affecting staff who support students with disabilities.
Board members previously rejected an earlier version of the proposed plan this month and directed Superintendent Brian Yearwood to return with changes developed alongside stakeholder groups.
Tuesday's vote passed 4 to 2, with board member Tricia Lister not present. Members James Craig and Taylor Everett voted no.
While Everett said he appreciated Yearwood revisiting the plan after its rejection, he believed the updated proposal didn't share the burden equally between administrators and staff that work with student. He also said reductions continue to fall more heavily on employees outside the Jefferson County Teachers Association.
Others present at the meeting felt differently, including a school psychologist in the district who thanked board members for listening and making changes to the original proposal. She said school psychologists support the new organizational chart and believe it will meet the needs of students and families.
The approved plan reduces work days for about five role groups — not as much as initially proposed. That includes:
- School Psychologists
- Audiologists
- CEIS Behavior Support Specialists
- Board Certified Behavior Analysts.
The plan also eliminates the Chief of Exceptional Child Education and Executive Administrator roles.
Yearwood said this portion of the cuts will save the district about $250,000 dollars.
The approval of these cuts round out the district's larger central office reduction plan, aimed at helping close JCPS’ roughly $188 million budget deficit. District leaders initially set a goal of cutting $132 million, with central office changes making up a portion of those savings.
Yearwood confirmed the JCPS is "well over" $100 million in budget cuts, but did not say how much of that comes specifically from central office changes.
"You know it's a process," he said. "We have areas that we refine and we have to give back according to certain needs. But we are making progress. And we are getting very close to that 132 million dollar mark."
When asked how much savings are coming specifically from central office cuts, Yearwood said the district projected about $44 million and is close to reaching that goal.
He could not give an exact number on how much saved from the division charts that have been approved.
"The process is working," Yearwood said. "I don't have an exact number but I know that we are very close to that 44 million dollar number cut."
The approval of the ECE organizational chart is the final piece of JCPS' central office cuts. They will be implemented beginning with the 2026–27 school year.
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