Other than a change of address for their work sites, only a handful of teachers have been affected so far by ISD 2142’s restructuring plan.

On Monday, school board member approved placing only one full-time tenured teacher, Liam Conger, on unrequested leave of absence. They also placed portions of other tenured teaching positions on unrequested leave for a total of less than two full-time-equivalent positions. In addition to Conger, the affected staff includes Erin Cox (0.5 FTE), Zachary Swart (0.10 FTE) and Amanda Pascuzzi (0.10 FTE).

Superintendent Charles Rick said the district hasn’t determined how many teachers will be retained for the 2011-12 school year, saying it will have a better idea in June on how much staff it will require, including maintenance and secretarial staff. He also pointed out there have been a number of retirements and the district may not refill all those positions.

Dave Fazio, president of the Teachers Local 331, noted that there were about a dozen teachers who shifted assignments on Bump Night, held on April 7 at the Cherry School, but the final number of teachers returning to 2142 won’t probably be known until June.

Some of that loss is the result of declining enrollment, he acknowledged.

“We’ve seen teacher reductions over the years because of our declining enrollment and that is continuing,” said Fazio. “I don’t think we’ll know for sure what the final numbers are until early in the summer.”

Indeed, the district reduced its teaching workforce by nearly 15 FTEs in the 2009-10 school year and cut about 18 FTEs in the 2003-04 year. Bump Night typically has set the mark how many staff will be affected, but staff have until June 15 before the district sets assignments.

The district has claimed that it would save millions of dollars through its restructuring plan. The bulk of those savings were to come through reduced labor costs by consolidating students into fewer schools, according to the district. But so far, much of those savings have not materialized.

Earlier in the year, the district deviated from its original plan to cut administrative costs by nearly one-quarter of a million dollars, opting instead to retain most administrators for the 2011-12 school year. In addition, the district developed its plan to cut administrative costs before adding a district-wide curriculum coordinator. Board members also recently approved the addition of network technician, which has added another $36,000 plus benefits to administrative costs.

The board did state that it considered 2011-12 a transitional year and that it would review the administrative structure in 2012.