{"id":128442,"date":"2026-04-08T16:54:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T22:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/fifteen-bayfield-school-district-staff-members-accept-buyouts-amid-budget-cuts\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T16:54:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T22:54:36","slug":"fifteen-bayfield-school-district-staff-members-accept-buyouts-amid-budget-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/fifteen-bayfield-school-district-staff-members-accept-buyouts-amid-budget-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Fifteen Bayfield School District staff members accept buyouts amid budget cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Ryan
Ryan Blundell teaches his fifth grade class at Bayfield Intermediate School in November 2024. Fifteen staff members have accepted buyouts amid financial struggles for the district. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

More than a dozen Bayfield School District staff members have accepted buyouts and will leave their positions amid budget cuts.<\/p>\n

The cuts \u2013 which include natural attrition, unfilled vacancies and reduced contract work for elementary counselors \u2013 were detailed in Board of Education documents and during a special meeting Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike many districts around our state, the continued decline in student enrollment, rising costs, and flat funding for education have put our budget in a bind,\u201d District Superintendent Dylan Connell told The Durango Herald<\/em> in an email Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Seventeen staff members applied for a buyout, and 15 were approved, according to a Salary and Benefit Reduction Report<\/a> by the district.<\/p>\n

Those opting to leave include kindergarten, second, third and fourth grade teachers; a reading interventionist; a STEM teacher; a counselor; and an orchestra teacher. Most staff members are expected to leave in late May, according to the report.<\/p>\n

When asked the incentive amounts offered to staff, Connell said the district supplied a \u201clump sum payment commensurate with their (a staff member\u2019s) years of service to the district.\u201d<\/p>\n

Board President Rebecca Parnell delivered a speech on the staff reductions through tears at Tuesday\u2019s meeting, saying that though the 15 staff members chose to leave voluntarily, the impact of the departures \u201cis real, and it is felt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be very clear that this is not a moment of celebration for us,\u201d she said. \u201cThe decisions made in recent weeks still represent a real loss for our district, and we\u2019re saying goodbye to valued educators and programs that matter deeply to our students and our community.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a personal level, I\u2019m saying goodbye to educators who have supported my own children,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 These are not numbers \u2013 they\u2019re real people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Madeline Shea, a first grade teacher at Bayfield Primary School, was one of several individuals to speak on the staff reduction during public comment. Shea said the loss of teachers who provide art education at the primary school will have a negative impact on students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t sit here and say I\u2019m an advocate for students and know that we\u2019re cutting things in this district,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 I\u2019m aware that there needs to be cuts and it has to come from somewhere. I just encourage \u2013 moving forward \u2013 that teachers have a bigger voice in problem-solving and collaborating with (the board), because we\u2019re creative in the classroom, (and) we can be creative in this district together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of the success of the voluntary separation initiative, a reduction in force plan rolled out at a March 24 school board meeting \u2013 which would have involved staff \u201cinvoluntarily separating\u201d from the district, according to the report \u2013 will not be put into effect.<\/p>\n

According to Connell and the report, the immediate goal is to bring the district below the 85% threshold of total revenue being allocated to salary and benefits for the 2026-27 school year, with the longer-term goal being to get that number closer to 80%.<\/p>\n

The district has so far saved about $213,000 through the voluntary separation efforts and expects to save about $1.39 million total in salary and benefit costs for the 2026-27 school year, according to the report and discussion at the meeting.<\/p>\n

\n

For more information<\/h4>\n

A full recording of Tuesday\u2019s Board of Education meeting can be accessed at www.youtube.com\/live\/KmLtLOG5j70<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Board Vice President Justin Talbot spoke in opposition to the voluntary separation program, criticizing the process and saying it has \u201ccrippled (the) district.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that we \u2013 Dylan (Connell) \u2013 explained to you all that this wasn\u2019t a reduction in staff, but we can\u2019t BS each other,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was a reduction in staff. This was pushing great teachers and professionals out the door, and I\u2019m very upset about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talbot said downsizing efforts were focused on professional staff and teachers rather than on administration, and that experienced staff left their roles with the district prematurely through the VSI program as a way to allow younger employees to continue their careers.<\/p>\n

Connell disagreed that administrators were overlooked in budget cuts.<\/p>\n

Two director positions have been vacated in the recent past, he said, and targeting additional administrative roles in the buyout program was considered \u2013 but the district felt reducing them further, especially at the middle school level, would hurt efforts to improve student behavior and achievement.<\/p>\n

The Bayfield School District is not the only Southwest Colorado district downsizing staff in response to budget issues.<\/p>\n

The Durango School District announced<\/a> its own slew of staffing cuts last month \u2013 some of which were not voluntary<\/a> \u2013 in response to a nearly $2 million dollar budget deficit.<\/p>\n

Durango School District initially declined to share exact numbers with the Herald<\/em>, but described a range of positions being impacted. Spokeswoman Karla Sluis later said at least 15 administrative positions had been cut as of late March.<\/p>\n

A Durango School District finance director painted a bleak budget picture d<\/a>uring a Board of Education work session at Park Elementary School last month that illustrated enrollment losses, funding shifts and deficit concerns impacting education on a statewide level.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a process of grief for all of us \u2013 for each of us individually, including myself,\u201d Connell said at Tuesday\u2019s meeting. \u201cI would not ever wish to be on this precipice. However, I am grateful \u2026 for the people who have volunteered, and for the grace and kindness that has been shown and the way that people have communicated, even when they\u2019re frustrated. \u2026 (We are) doing the best that we can with the limited resources that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two staff members not accepted for buyouts will continue working with the district, Connell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order for the voluntary separation incentive to be agreeable, it had to benefit the employee and the organization,\u201d he told the Herald<\/em>. \u201cThere were a couple of applicants for separation in roles that would have caused unsafe or excessive loss in parts of our system.\u201d<\/p>\n

epond@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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