Southwest School Corp. lays off 16 employees amid budget concerns

SULLIVAN, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– The Southwest School Corporation has laid off 16 employees as a result of budget issues.

We have previously reported on the reasons for the financial issues– the main one, a drop over $100 million in the school’s valuation from 2023 to 2024. At Wednesday’s school board meeting, superintendent Chris Stitzle said of those who were laid off, four were certified staff and 12 were non-certified.

He said the budget will continue to be monitored through the summer.

“We’re looking at all aspects of our budget to try and save money to limit the amount of certified and non-certified staff we have to lay off at this time,” he said. “We’re looking at our partnerships with people we work with, we’re looking at our instructional subscriptions, we’re looking at other maintenance costs. We’re looking at holding off other projects that maybe we can wait a little bit on.”

Stitzle added they will work on a month-to-month basis as they evaluate all factors. The corporation will begin official discussions on the 2025 budget in August.

In other business, the board announced the return of a summer feed program for residents throughout Sullivan. Stitzle said it was popular during the pandemic and he’s happy to see it return this June. It allows students to pick up five breakfast and five lunch meals in the summer months.

“It’s just a tremendous program, and we did that when we were in COVID, we did that with students and it was just very successful,” he said. “We’re excited about having it back.”

Stitzle said this service is available to families outside the corporation as well. You can find out more details by reaching out to the Southwest School Corporation.

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