LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Jefferson County Public Schools outlined $142 million in new cuts and layoffs affecting central administration and school staff during a meeting with principals Tuesday.

The plan is the district’s attempt to address an expected $188 million shortfall in the 2026-27 budget. The new proposal would total about $142 million in cuts as the district seeks to balance its budget. This is more than the $132 million reduction Dr. Yearwood had originally anticipated.

Amid growing questions about the math behind JCPS’ finances, the Jefferson County Board of Education will on Jan. 20 review a budget that leaders said is critical to the district’s future. The budget must be approved by the Board of Directors.

The proposed reductions are:

• Central office personnel and reorganization: $44 million
• Supplemental and add-on programs: $41 million
• Facilities and Underutilized Assets: $5 million
• Operating and transportation costs: $13 million
• Contracts and subscriptions: $9 million
• Other potential reductions pending negotiations: $30 million

JCPS said it will notify all employees whose roles will be removed or changed by May 15.

“Today is a new day for JCPS, rooted in fiscal responsibility,” Superintendent Brian Yearwood said in a news release Wednesday. “In order to meet our obligations to our students, teachers, families, and taxpayers, we must make difficult decisions, including eliminating positions and programs that are no longer consistent with our essential obligations as a school district.”

“These are very serious and heartbreaking times,” Yearwood said.

Nearly $44 million of the proposed layoffs would come from the central office, eliminating about 300 jobs. Yearwood recently said the cuts would be concentrated in the central office. The district said in a presentation Tuesday that the increase in central office staff (up 255 people since 2019) was “not built with sustainability in mind,” an issue that was raised by an outside state audit several years ago.

At the same time, the presentation said academic performance is not improving because resources are too spread out across the county and roles are misaligned with student needs.

“We have a dedicated staff that works every day to provide a quality education to the students of Jefferson County, and I want them to know that I appreciate their work,” Yearwood said in a news release. “These were difficult decisions to make in our first year together, but it is my responsibility to lead this district responsibly and effectively so that we can continue to fulfill our core responsibility of educating our students.”

Program reductions are outlined in the slides below.

These include $18 million from the Needs Index, also known as racial equity funding, and $14 million from academic instructional coach positions.

“Our employees have given us 100 percent of their heart and soul, which is huge,” Yearwood said.

The plan would also reduce school safety costs by more than $3 million, but Yearwood said it would not affect student safety.

Another $13 million would be taken from operations and transportation, including eliminating some bus subsidies.
Another $9 million will come from contracts and subscriptions and $5 million from facilities.
Approximately $30 million in additional cuts are still pending union negotiations, including possible changes to cost of living adjustments.

The presentation also outlines changes to school closures and consolidations since previous plans were submitted. Under the revised plan, King Elementary School would still merge with Maupin Elementary School and Zachary Taylor Elementary School would close.

“These are the most vulnerable students in my district: 275 students in kindergarten through fifth grade,” one parent said in public comment.

However, Liberty High School will not close and will relocate to Geenes, and the TAAP program will remain in its original building.

The proposed reductions were also presented to the district’s Audit and Risk Management Advisory Committee on Wednesday afternoon.

During the meeting, WDRB asked Yearwood about the potential impact on students.

WDRB’s Adi Shani asked, “You’ve said there will be no negative impact on students, but a $142 million cut seems unlikely unless the district has had previous spending inefficiencies of that magnitude.”

“Yes. So the impact on students. When we look, we realize that we have been very careful or have been protective, but we said we would protect base pay for teachers, which we did. That said, we will protect the educational environment,” Yearwood responded.

At least one board member disagreed, saying the cuts would not affect students.

“Cutting $140 million from the budget is going to impact the experience of our students in some way. I think that’s inevitable,” said board member James Craig.

WDRB also asked about accountability, particularly whether the same chief financial officer who oversaw years of deficits would remain in place.

“Mr. Manns is currently chief financial officer, but he will not be serving in that capacity,” Yearwood said.

The district is also planning to replace the CFO role with a new chief business officer who will oversee the budget, as well as several new leadership roles, including a director of innovation and strategy.

Mr Yearwood said his role would “make school more exciting for students”.

Even with the $142 million cut, JCPS would still face a shortfall of about $40 million, according to district projections.

District leaders say the budget is the first responsible financial plan the district has presented in several years.

“Yes, my intention is not to run a deficit budget and have to go through budget cuts like we’re seeing here again,” Yearwood said.

How we got here

Financial alarm bells first sounded at a regular school board meeting in September, when district leaders warned that JCPS funding could run out by 2026. Since that meeting, WDRB has reviewed the district’s 10-year budget, filed more than a dozen public records requests and repeatedly questioned district leaders about why the shortfall was so large.

JCPS officials said the deficit is largely a result of the district’s reliance on federal coronavirus relief funds, known as ESSER funds, which have already expired. But records reviewed by WDRB show that JCPS ran a deficit nearly every year for a decade, with the only exception being 2022, when coronavirus relief funds temporarily balanced the budget.

In June 2025, in his last interview with WDRB, then-Superintendent Marty Pollio said there would be much smaller fiscal adjustments going forward.

“Next year we’ll need to invest about $40 million more, but after that it’s a soft landing,” Pollio said.

Three months later, under new leadership, the projected savings have increased significantly to $132 million.

WDRB examined internal emails from the time and previous budget proposals and found no warnings about a sudden fiscal cliff.

In a recent interview, Superintendent Brian Yearwood was asked why that number had increased by about $90 million in just three months.

“We implemented the program using ESSER funds,” Yearwood said. “But I think the numbers, as I call them, started getting bigger and bigger.”

District records show another grew during the same period. It is central office management. JCPS currently has approximately twice as many director-level positions as it did 10 years ago.

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