DULUTH – The Duluth School District expects to cut $5 million in the next budget, the equivalent of 50 full-time teacher positions.

That others from all over the statedistrict leaders point to the end of federal pandemic relief aid, inflation, unfunded new legislative mandates and rising special education costs.

“These decisions are not taken lightly,” Magas said in a press release this week. “We understand the impact these adjustments may have and are committed to minimizing disruption to our students’ educational experience.”

Leaders have not said how many layoffs there will be.

Expected cuts include $1 million in elementary school funding; $1.3 million for middle and high schools; $1 million in administrative staff positions; and $1 million from the department of special education and care and treatment.

The district’s general fund budget this year is about $120 million and it has 1,200 employees, about half of them teachers. Current enrollment is approximately 8,700 students.

Duluth Federation of Teachers President Ethan Fisher said he hopes the layoffs will be mostly absorbed by retirements, which typically number about two dozen each year. He said the conversation is happening much earlier than usual, before state lawmakers meet for the next legislative session and school districts get a feel for potential increases in state aid. It’s a wake-up call for some, Fisher said, at a time when morale is already suffering from stretched resources.