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Bellingham School District to rehire paraeducators
Bellingham School District says it will rehire some staff members who were laid off after others announced they are retiring or resigning.
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The Bellingham School District has received new funding to re-hire some staff members who were laid off due to budget issues.
The district first announced a $16 million deficit in April, which led to dozens of teaching and staff positions being cut.
Superintendent Greg Baker says over the last several weeks, they've been able to close some of the budget gap because more staff members announced they are either retiring or resigning.
On top of that, the district also received more funding from the state for special education, which will help bring back 19 paraeducators who were either laid off or had their hours reduced.
In a statement, Baker said, "while overall the budget is still challenging, I am encouraged that some of our planned reductions are not as deep as originally expected."
Officials are still putting the final touches on the district's budget and hope to have a more finalized plan by August.