The Jefferson County Board of Education has approved a tentative budget for the 2009-2010 school year that includes more than $25 million in cuts to offset sagging revenues and a drop in state funding.The district's Chief Financial Officer, Cordelia Hardin, says the school system is getting some short-term relief in the form of federal stimulus dollars, but will still have to dip into its reserve fund to avoid deeper cuts.There will also be more than two dozen administrative job losses."The majority of these positions are vacant, and they've become vacant through either promotion or attrition," Hardin told the board Monday night. "And it's a good thing that we've not had to lay off a lot of individuals. I believe our layoffs at this point are two to three individuals that i'm aware of, but we'll be updating that as we go along."In other business, the board gave unanimous approval to a new student assignment plan for middle and high school students. It will be implemented in the 2010-2011 school year. A new plan for elemenatary students is being put into place this year.The changes were spurred by a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.