Duluth school district displaces 41 staff

DULUTH — Forty-one employees at Duluth Public Schools were notified they will be displaced, the district confirmed Tuesday.

That includes one principal, 20 teachers, 16 paraprofessionals and four other non-certified staff. Employees were notified last week and the district also sent them letters Friday.

The district is reducing 8% of its staff as part of $5 million in budget reductions for 2025-26. An additional $2.6 million was cut for the current school year. Many factors have contributed to the district's need for budget cuts, including the June 30 expiration of federal pandemic relief funds, inflation, unfunded legislative mandates and employee contract settlements.

Two activities director positions were eliminated as part of the district’s budget reduction and reallocation process, communications officer Adelle Wellens confirmed. Tom Pearson, of Denfeld High School, and Shawn Roed, of Duluth East High School, have been members of the teachers union as Teachers on Special Assignment, or TOSAs.

Going forward, the district plans instead to have two assistant principal positions in the Duluth Principals’ Association union that will manage activities and athletics. Job descriptions are being developed.

Four employees were notified they will be laid off, effective at the end of June, because displacements are not included in their contracts, Theresa Severance, executive director of human resources and operations, explained to school board members during the Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday. She said another round of potential displacements is possible in mid-March.

The district will know more about its budget status in late spring or early summer. At that time, displaced employees will learn if they will be laid off.

“If they are tenured teachers, then we are obligated to find them a position or lay them off,” Severance said. Displaced employees who are non-tenured would not likely be renewed, she said. Those who are laid off would be eligible for unemployment benefits.

Certified staff who are planning to retire had to notify the district by Feb. 1. The district received 12 retirement notifications — “a lot less than we typically have,” Severance said.

Superintendent John Magas said a question-and-answer session for displaced certified staff is scheduled for 3-5 p.m. Wednesday. The district is also working with the paraprofessionals union and other non-certified staff to assist with resources. Magas said the district wants to “make sure we have safety nets for our staff.”