3 dozen jobs in jeopardy at Lake County School District

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — The Lake County School District could eliminate about three dozen jobs as part of plans to reorganize the district office. Superintendent Diane Kornegay told Channel 9's Michael Lopardi that the move will help improve finances to save more than $2.1 million in salaries and benefits.

Most of the positions are already empty. Some of those jobs were left open on purpose to make this transition a little easier.

Kornegay said the changes are all part of plans to get the district's finances back on track.

“These are not easy decisions by any means when you're talking about people in positions, which is why it's good many of them were vacant so that we have a minimal impact on people,” Kornegay said.

The jobs range from administrator to accountant and maintenance. Some of those positions were combined into new jobs that will be added. All of the positions are based at district offices, not individual schools, Kornegay said.

Spreadsheets provided by the district don’t provide an exact total number of jobs that will be impacted. By our count, a net total of about three dozen positions would be cut.

While the district office and teachers' union have sometimes disagreed on money, the union praised the move Monday.

“We've talked for years about how the county office is top heavy and with the new superintendent coming in and wanting to streamline, I think it's an excellent step in the right direction,” said Stuart Klatte with the Lake County Education Association.

For years, the district has spent more money than it takes in, often turning to reserves and capital dollars to close the gap. The superintendent now hopes to improve those numbers with cuts at the top.

Cox Media Group