The Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education has unanimously approved cutting numerous assistant principal positions to ease the school district’s current budget crisis.

During a special meeting Wednesday, the school board targeted 12 assistant principals at as many schools for contract non-renewal, meaning they will not be reemployed in their current roles. It also axed an English as a Second Language manager and IT manager.

The cuts were recommended by Interim Superintendent Shauna Murphy, who took over for ex-Superintendent Iranetta Wright after she resigned following votes of no confidence from the district’s six unions. The board was required to accept those recommendations for non-renewal by June 1.

While those employees may have lost their assistant principal jobs, they could remain employed by filling one of the district’s 250 teaching vacancies.

“If you are interested, we would love to have you,” Murphy said. “I believe that many of the (assistant principals) in question are internal and so there is a place for you.”

The cuts approved on Wednesday may not be the last. In a presentation updating board members on the budget deficit, district treasurer Jennifer Wagner pointed to dozens of position cuts identified to save money, including high school teachers, elementary assistant principals and administrators.

Because of those cuts, other cost-saving measures and an unexpected boost in Tax Increment Financing revenues, the district has identified enough savings to close its budget gap to $13.6 million − a drop from its original gap of roughly $32 million.

The board delayed hiring for some positions at its last business meeting to hold off additional debt, at Wagner’s recommendation. But they did appoint Murphy and an interim deputy superintendent, Alesia Smith. Murphy and Smith have spent, collectively, more than 40 years in the district. The two have yet to receive pay bumps for their new roles, though the board may soon approve new contracts with Murphy and Smith.

The morning after they were appointed interim district leaders, Murphy and Smith met with Wagner and the district’s union leaders to develop a plan to address the budget deficit. Those options will be presented to the school board at the next business meeting on June 3.

New projects and Wright’s departure did the budget no favors, Wagner previously told The Enquirer. It chewed into the district’s savings. The board approved a settlement with its outgoing superintendent, in which they agreed to pay her upwards of $270,000 through July of next year.

The district is also projected to grow by about 1,200 students next year. Inflation costs and fuel, especially, have contributed to the budget crisis, too. And Wagner has pointed to the drying up of pandemic relief funds as another wrinkle in the district’s efforts to balance the budget, which school districts in Ohio must do every year by the end of June.

The district has until the state’s June 30 deadline to close its budget gap. Otherwise, it will continue spending over its budget for about three months while figuring out additional cuts − a bad route for the district to take, Wagner said previously.

However, Wagner told board members Wednesday that the district should brace for a 90-day temporary appropriation, which she said will make it difficult to manage the district’s finances.

“This is going to be hard,” board member Brandon Craig said. “At no point should we ever tell you this is going to be an easy thing to do.”

Enquirer education reporter Madeline Mitchell contributed.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati school board cuts assistant principals due to budget crisis