The Princeton City School District has issued a hiring freeze and will likely eliminate staff positions next school year after the levy failed in the November election. The school board is already working to get a new levy on the May ballot, and if that fails, the schools could close.
The district recently outlined final cuts and future possible cuts on its website. Princeton is cutting back on transportation for students during after-school activities and reducing field trips for next school year. The district has also issued a hiring freeze for the remainder of this school year and will limit professional development opportunities to save money.
“We greatly appreciate our community’s support for public education and understand concerns about rising costs,” Superintendent Elgin Card said in a news release Tuesday. “The board and administrative team are committed to reducing costs with minimal impact on student learning and maintaining the Princeton advantage.”
That’s a more optimistic message than the one Card sent to families immediately after the election, when he wrote that budget cuts would “have a significant impact on the experience we provide at Princeton City Schools.”
Elgin Card is superintendent of Princeton City Schools.
“We simply cannot have what we cannot afford,” Card wrote to families in November.
What’s on the chopping block? Transport, staff, schools
With the levy failing, the district will have to cut $10.6 million from its budget. The district has already cut more than 40 staff positions in the past two years, mainly through retirements and layoffs, and will have to cut even more staff to deal with the levy failure. The district also let go of five staff members before the start of this school year because their positions were funded by federal pandemic relief dollars, which expired in September.
There will be changes this school year, starting in January:
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No more buses on Tuesdays and Thursdays to take children home from extracurricular activities. This impacts students at Princeton Community Middle School and Princeton High School who use the buses to get home from after-school activities such as tutoring, clubs and sports.
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No more excursions unless they are 100% funded by subsidies.
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Progress reports, report cards and student handbooks are offered online only, not printed or mailed.
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Reduced professional development opportunities for faculty and staff, including the cancellation of Viking University.
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Discounts for substitute teachers.
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The district buildings are closed from Friday to Sunday during the summer.
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The district will delay projects such as paving, roofing and HVAC maintenance.
The board also approved potential changes for the 2025-2026 school year, including:
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Cuts are being made to teachers and paraprofessionals. The number of staff to be cut will depend on how many current employees retire or leave the district. Consolidated classrooms will lead to larger class sizes.
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Discounts on sports and other extracurricular activities.
If the levy is not approved in May, the district will look at the following changes for the 2026-2027 school year, which would save $8 million:
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Additional staff reductions.
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Close two primary schools. No decision has yet been made on which buildings will close.
Princeton City Schools wants to hear from the community about these changes and will post dates for community listening sessions on its website in the coming weeks.
This article originally appeared on the Cincinnati Enquirer: Staff cuts and possible school closures are coming to Princeton schools
