Kuhrt apologizes for bungled handling of WFISD staff cut plans

Wichita Falls ISD Superintendent Michael Kuhrt apologized Monday night for the way he handled planned staff cuts at the school district.

"I'm sorry on how this was communicated. That is on me," Kuhrt said at the end of a school board meeting.

Several teachers had spoken earlier in the meeting about their concerns with upcoming cuts and especially plans to cut out the curriculum coaches at campuses.

"This was not handled appropriately," Kuhrt said of the way the plans trickled from his office to individual schools. "That is my fault."

His remarks came after a closed session of the trustees on the matter of impending staff reductions.

Kuhrt said despite his handling of matters, staff cuts are coming to WFISD.

"We have a $6.2 million deficit budget," he said.

The superintendent said he and trustees came up with the term "shared sacrifice" for the cuts that must be made.

"It's going to be everywhere," he said.

Kuhrt said he would set up meetings next week with instructional coaches and principals to have discussions about "issues we have" related to staffing and budget.

"There are going to be cuts, but we're going to have a discussion about it before any decisions are made," Kuhrt said.

He said the board would likely vote on actions to take at a meeting in April.

In addition to the large budget deficit, the need for staff cuts is deemed necessary by a huge drop in attendance since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trustees also heard briefly about the redrawing of attendance zones made necessary by the construction of two new high schools.

At a series of public meetings, a small turnout overwhelmingly liked the "Fairway Split" or "Option B" among the three proposals submitted to them.

Boundary lines for that proposal use Fairway Boulevard as the main east-west divide, zagging to the east at Kell Freeway and looping around along railroad tracks and Old Iowa Park Road.

Trustee Bob Payton, who oversaw the public meetings, said some final adjustments will be made before anything becomes official.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Superintendent Kuhrt apologizes for bungled handling of WFISD staff cut plans