LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Little Rock School District superintendent is giving more information about upcoming budget cuts.
The district is tasked with cutting $15 million to balance the budget.
"It is not any superintendent's dream to sit in this role... two years in to be faced with making such tough decisions," LRSD Superintendent Jermall Wright said.
In a press conference, Wright explained how the budget cuts will impact the district.
"Classroom teachers are not impacted more than other employee groups from a percentage standpoint," Wright said.
According to one document, LRSD would save $4.5 million by eliminating 42 teacher positions. However, Wright said they were unfilled anyway.
Sixty-six teachers, or about 4% of the LRSD teaching staff, received non-renewal notices because of budget cuts.
Other teachers who received non-renewal notices were due to schedule changes, performance issues and school closures.
"Anytime you're making decisions that impact people's employment and livelihoods, it is something very serious," Wright said. "I don't take it lightly."
Currently, the district has 99 teacher vacancies for next year that these teachers can apply for.
They can also file a grievance with the district regarding questions on their non-renewal notices and possibly get a hearing before the board.
Some elective curriculum teachers were also cut due to some schools' schedule changes.
Instead of an A-B block schedule where students would have certain classes every other day, they are now moving to a hybrid schedule, which means students will have core curriculum classes, like English and math, every day.
As of Thursday, 29 teachers had filed grievances with the district. At a special meeting Thursday night, the board heard five of those.