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LPSS saving only $500K per year with adopted CSG recommendations leads to hiring freeze
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LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- The Lafayette Parish School System announced Thursday they are in a hiring freeze. The decision comes after a crucial meeting Wednesday night, where LPSS voted not to adopt several recommendations by CSG.
This led to LPSS not saving as much money as they were hoping for. Two of the biggest money-savers would have been to close Duson Elementary and Comeaux High School.
"The hiring freeze that we have now is that we are seeing that some of the money we could have saved here could have offset some of the things that we know that's coming down the pipe," LPSS Superintendent Francis Touchet said at a press conference Thursday.
If all of CSG's recommendations were approved Wednesday night, the estimated savings for the upcoming school years would have been in the millions.
| Year 1 | $4.2 Million |
| Year 2 | $7.7 Million |
| Year 3 | $8 Million |
| Year 4 | $7.9 Million |
| Year 5 | $8.6 Million |
Instead of the four to eight million dollars annually that LPSS was hoping to save, the board only managed to save $500,000 annually.
"We have to put the brakes on. We have to take a look at as far as the district, and we have to make some tough decisions moving forward," the superintendent said.
For example, the closures of Duson Elementary and Comeaux High would have saved about $3.6 million.
Now, the school board needs to find other ways to save money, as LPSS anticipates losing revenues to incoming charter schools. As the school board figures out what to do, they've implemented the hiring freeze.
"We just want to be very cautious. I'm going to say, this is very temporary. I don't want people to panic," Touchet said. "If you are a certified person, we will find a teaching position for you. We're going to take care of the people that work for us."
The superintendent said the hiring freeze is temporary, but he couldn't give an exact date on when it will be lifted.