It is never easy to lay off employees, in the private or public sector. But new Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith wasn't hired to make easy decisions, but to make tough ones. So shortly after taking office, he announced that as part of an effort to close a nearly $18 million budget deficit, he is looking at cutting up to 30 jobs.
That would include about 10 central office positions, as well as some assistant principals and teacher trainers. In addition, he recommends eliminating benefits for contracted bus drivers and slashing by half the capital expense budget.
School Board Chairman Mike Evatt said in response to possible job losses, "I don't want to see anyone cut if possible, but sometimes you have to."
That is a difficult but realistic approach to the painful economic circumstances in which our local schools find themselves in this time of economic crisis.