Atlanta, Georgia – The Atlanta Board of Education unanimously resolved to eliminate several hundred positions around the system in order to better line with the district’s objectives. The decision came during a regular board meeting last week. Chief Human Resource Officer Nicole Lawson made this decision in response to issues like underfunded pensions and healthcare, changes in student enrollment, the necessity to appropriately fund new initiatives, and modifications made to the central office to support district-wide programs.
The proposal was initiated by Cynthia Briscoe Brown and supported by Katie Howard. The decision will lead to the elimination of 534 roles, of which 108 at the central office and 425 in schools; 332 of these jobs were already vacant.
This move is a part of the 2024–2025 budgetary period as Atlanta schools attempt to control their spending following the decrease in federal funding during the COVID pandemic. Staff members in schools determined which positions were no longer required by using information on student enrollment and planning schedules.
Among the areas impacted by the cuts are the Division of Academics, Atlanta Virtual Schools, Operations, Information Technology, and the Office of Equity.
425 school-based positions will therefore be abolished (276 of which are already vacant), but 142 new positions will be added for the 2024–2025 academic year. There will be 108 job cuts in the Central Office (56 open posts) and 27 new central administration positions established.
These job cuts will take effect on July 1, 2024.
