After facing a potential $55 million budget deficit, the La Joya ISD school board approved a $383.3 million budget for the new school year.

The school board approved the budget during a Wednesday school board meeting. The deficit was drastically cut to $10 million by cutting nearly 200 district employees.

“We have been overstaffed since 2011, and the district did nothing to respond to that overstaffing,” La Joya ISD state-appointed Superintendent Dr. Marcey Sorensen said during the school board meeting.

Sorensen says the state had been telling the district to make cuts for more than a decade.

Then, the pandemic hit and took care of some salaries.

A chunk of the excess jobs were still being paid for using a COVID funding program that is now closed, meaning the district would have had to start paying those salaries.  

The program was paying for over 500 jobs, and 98 employees whose salaries were coming from COVID funds had to be laid off.

“We would have ended up at a $55.3 million budget shortfall, knowing in addition that $26.9 million dollars of salaries' on temporary funding,” Sorensen said.

Sorensen says going forward, every job opening will have to be approved by their budget department.

Vanessa Brown, president of a La Joya ISD teacher's advocate group, said some of her members were impacted by the layoffs. While Brown and her members aren't happy about the layoffs, she says it was a necessary decision.

“It had to be done, that's what's really in the best interest of our students,” Brown said. 

Brown says her organization is working with laid off employees to help them through the transition.

“Our membership has access to resources in professional development… additionally, we offer resume services and employment opportunity services,” Brown said.

The district will be offering job fairs for vacant positions that laid off employees will have priority for.

A job fair for auxiliary and para-professionals is set for Wednesday, July 24 at the La Joya ISD Central Administration Building from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. 

A job fair for teachers is set for Thursday, July 25, at the La Joya ISD Central Administration Building from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. 

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