Budget ax may swing at literacy coaches in Columbia, Missouri

Twenty-eight full-time positions in the Columbia Public School District in Missouri are being looked at under a list of budget reduction considerations. The positions are being considered for termination in what are called the “Priority 1 cuts,” or $5.2 million in budget reductions that must be made in the school district no matter the fate of a 54-cent property tax levy on April 8.

Among the positions cut are eight literacy coaches and 12 positions in special education in middle schools that would be restructured to save the district $200,000. “Literacy coaches were included in the top-priority cuts because they were not intended to be permanent,” said school board President Karla DeSpain, “and it is hoped the program they established should be in place.”