LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jefferson County Public Schools outlined more than $140 million in new cuts in a meeting Tuesday with principals, staff reductions that'll affect central office administration as well as in-school staff.

The plan is the district's latest big stab at shortening what's projected to be a $188 million shortfall in the 2026-27 budget. Altogether, this new proposal would total about $142 million in cuts as the district aims to balance its budget.

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:

  • Central Office Staff and Reorganization: $44 million
  • Supplemental and Add on Programs: $41 million
  • Facilities and Underutilized Assets: $5 million
  • Operations and Transportation: $13 million
  • Contracts and Subscriptions: $9 million
  • Other Potential Cuts, Pending Negotiations: $30 million

JCPS said all employees whose roles will be eliminated or changed will be notified by May 15.

"This is a new day for JCPS, rooted in financial accountability," Superintendent Brian Yearwood said in a news release Wednesday. "To fulfill our duty to students, teachers, families, and taxpayers, we have to make difficult decisions, including eliminating positions and programs that no longer align with our essential obligations as a school district."

Recently, Yearwood said the cuts would be focused on the central office. In its presentation Monday, the district said its central office growth — 255 more positions since 2019 — is "not built for sustainability," an issue raised years ago by an external state audit.

At the same time, the presentation said, academic achievement isn't improving, with resources spread too thin across the county and roles misaligned with needs of the students.

"We have dedicated staff working every day to provide a quality education to students in Jefferson County, and I want them to know I appreciate their work," Yearwood said in a news release. "These were difficult decisions to make in our first year together, but it is my responsibility to lead this district responsibly and efficiently, so that we can continue to meet our core responsibilities in educating students."

The full 2026-27 budget was presented Wednesday afternoon to the district's Audit and Risk Management Advisory Committee.

How we got here

The financial alarm first sounded during a routine school board meeting in September, when district leaders warned JCPS could run out of money by 2026. Since that meeting, WDRB has reviewed a decade of district budgets, filed more than a dozen open records requests and repeatedly questioned district leadership about how the shortfall grew so large.

JCPS officials have said the deficit is largely the result of the district's reliance on federal COVID-19 relief money, known as ESSER funds, which have now expired. However, records reviewed by WDRB show JCPS ran a deficit nearly every year for a decade, with one exception — 2022, when COVID relief funds temporarily balanced the budget.

In June 2025, during what would be his final interview with WDRB, then-Superintendent Marty Pollio described a much smaller financial correction ahead.

"They're going to have to do about $40 million more next year, and then it is a soft landing," Pollio said.

Three months later, under new leadership, the projected cuts grew dramatically to $132 million.

WDRB reviewed internal emails and prior budget presentations from that period and found no warnings of a sudden financial cliff.

During a recent interview, Superintendent Brian Yearwood was asked how the number increased by roughly $90 million in just three months.

"We used our ESSER funds to bring in programs," Yearwood said. "But I guess the numbers started — I call it — getting bigger and bigger."

District records show something else grew during that same period: central office administration. JCPS now has nearly twice as many chief-level positions as it did 10 years ago.

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