More than 400 media clerks, interpreters, bus drivers and other DeKalb County School District employees will lose their jobs in layoffs approved Thursday.
The school board last week adopted a budget with $78.6 million in cuts. That decision, and a prior restructuring, led to their vote Thursday to remove 412 people from the payroll.
The "reduction in force," or layoffs, will save $16.9 million, said Tekshia Ward-Smith, the school system's human resources chief. She said 342 of the layoffs resulted from the budget cuts, and 70 from a restructuring early this year.
The layoffs did not include teachers. Ward-Smith said more layoffs would likely be recommended later, but officials have said few if any teachers will be laid off. That's because more than 500 retired, resigned or were fired this year — around the number of positions eliminated by the budget. Rather than laying them off, officials can choose to move teachers from eliminated positions.
Also on Thursday, school board members heard a handful of comments about their first vote last week to raise the tax rate by 1 mill.
That will bring in another $14.8 million. But finance chief Michael Perrone noted that even with the higher millage rate, the school system will take in less money from property taxes than previously.
This year, 23 mills generated $395 million, he said. Next year, with property values plummeting, DeKalb's new rate of 24 mills will generate $365 million, Perrone said.
Still, some homeowners whose property values have not dropped have complained about the bigger bill.
The final tax vote is July 9, system spokesman Walter Woods said.
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