Facing a $91 million budget shortfall, Camden school district planning possible job cuts and layoffs
Union leaders say they have been briefed by the Camden school superintendent that sweeping cuts are planned to close a $91 million budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year.
Facing a $91 million budget shortfall for the 2025-26 school year, the Camden school district plans to cut jobs and lay off employees, union officials said Tuesday.
Superintendent Katrina T. McCombs disclosed a massive restructuring to union leaders and administrators during a tense meeting at the Central Office.
Camden Education Association President Pamela Clark, who represents more than 1,000 teachers and support staff, declined to say how many employees would be affected, but said the possible cuts were deep.
“Everybody is going to feel the impact of these layoffs and reduction in force, every single employee,” Clark said. “My heart is heavy.”
According to a source who attended the meeting and requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak, the positions include teachers, clerks, custodians, security officers, counselors, deans, a nurse and a principal.
At the meeting, McCombs cited declining enrollment and a funding shortfall. Camden is slated to receive $369 million in state aid for the upcoming school year, an increase of $21 million from the current year.
Even with the additional aid, McCombs said the district could not operate without cuts. She said the state has not offered emergency funds as it has done in previous years as a bailout.
McCombs has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday at 1 p.m.
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“The Camden City School District is currently in the process of notifying affected employees regarding staffing changes for the upcoming school year,” Sheena M. Yera, the district’s chief communications officer, said in a statement. “Once the internal notification process is complete, we will provide a more detailed update to our community.”
In addition to the job cuts, the plan also calls for converting Morgan Village Middle School into an alternative school, union officials said. It is the district’s only middle school.
Middle school students, seventh and eighth graders, would attend their neighborhood elementary schools, which enroll grades K-6 presently.
The plan also calls for an overhaul at the Camden High School complex which has four of the city’s traditional high schools: Camden High, Charles Brimm Medical Arts, the Big Picture Learning Academy and Creative Arts High.
Three principals would be moved, leaving just Creative Arts High principal Davida Coe-Brockington to oversee all four schools.
During Tuesday’s meeting with McCombs, principals were given packages outlining personnel changes slated for their schools, Clark said. They were given notification letters that must be distributed by Wednesday afternoon to affected employees, she said.
The possible restructuring sent shock waves through the state-operated school system. The district reopened Monday following spring recess.
Some employees noted that many of the possible cuts would occur at the school level and have the biggest impact on learning. The district could lose several attendance officers at a time when its chronic absenteeism rate is among the highest in South Jersey.
“So much upheaval,” said Keith Benson, a former union leader and a history teacher at Camden High. “It’s not a great time.”
Camden, under state control since 2013, has been down this road before in the wake of budget shortfalls. Since the takeover, the district closed 11 traditional schools, and enrollment has dwindled to 5,969 students.
Enrollment has drastically declined in recent years, with more parents opting for charter schools and Renaissance schools. Camden is the only district in New Jersey with three school types.
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Under state law, the district must notify employees by May 1 if their contracts will not be renewed for the coming year. Clark said some employees may have bumping rights and may be able to return to a previous tenured position.
Clark said the number of positions eliminated could be offset by retirements and resignations. An attendance officer, Clark has been laid off three times since 2010 and recalled to return to work.