Damakant Jayshi

As one of the measures to reduce a looming budget deficit, the Wausau School District will likely lay off around four to five teachers and staff from an estimated reduction of about 25 employees before the next school year begins.

The remaining 20 teachers and staff will be reduced through either unfilled retirements or transfers to fill other positions. School officials estimate a nearly $2 million savings through the reductions, more than half of the roughly $3.5 million deficit the district faces. District officials blame declining state funding and an inability to raise the revenue limit as the central reasons behind the shortfall.

Communications Coordinator Diana White did not provide exact figures or specifics related to the staffing choices but said most questions will be answered Monday.

The reductions are part of a “2024-25 budget reconciliation plan” that the district administration will present to the Education/Operations Committee meeting on Monday. Later, the board is expected to make a decision on the recommendation at a special meeting.

Five teachers and staff have been named under “Separations” as part of the consent agenda for the Wausau School Board’s Education/Operations Committee and a special meeting of the board. The “Separations” category includes “resignations,” “contract decreases,” and “terminations” sub-categories. But White told Wausau Pilot & Review that list of names is not connected to the budget shortfall conversation in any way. 

“It would be inaccurate to connect the two,” White said.

Officials are also proposing opening an early retirement window for some staff until May 9. Additionally, the administration will present three options regarding proposed salary increases.

The first option is a 3% salary/wage increase. In this scenario, the expenditure exceeds revenue by about $1.52 million in the proposed reconciliation plan. The second option recommends a 2% raise, with the expenditure exceeding revenue by $755,000 and the third option is a 4.2% raise. This will exceed expenditures over district revenue by almost $2.4 million. In each of the scenarios, there is an assumption of a $325 per student revenue limit increase.

The district is also considering an operational referendum in November to exceed its revenue limit. The Wausau School Board has already approved seeking input from the community through a survey on a potential referendum to exceed revenue limits to balance the budget and to pay for teacher and staff salary hikes and other related costs.