School leaders don’t have to eliminate jobs when navigating budget deficits. But they can leave positions unfilled, according to this new leader.
Sioux Falls School District shaved $3 million from the current school year’s budget under Superintendent Dr. Jamie Nold. His latest spending plan should聽save another $2 million this upcoming school year.
“That’ll get us to a pretty good place so that we’re running on a balanced budget again,” he says.
Nold, who was just named “Rookie of the Year” by the South Dakota School Superintendent’s Association, says post-pandemic聽budgeting聽has forced many schools into a deficit.
Systems such as Colorado’s Cherry Creek School District are planning for steep job cuts due to budget reductions and overstaffing, Denver7 . In New York, two Syracuse area districts, Jamesville-DeWitt and Fulton City, are also anticipating staff reductions in their 2026-27 budgets.
Preserving jobs
When Nold took the helm, he promised employees that their jobs were safe amid budget聽reductions. Natural attrition is one way to protect staff.
Rather than laying people off, the district opted not to fill administrative positions and other roles as employees retired or left.
He also invited teachers to propose solutions, some of which, like a four-day work week, weren’t viable. Teachers insisted that classroom sizes remain unchanged and suggested reducing assessments and avoiding massive overhauls of the curriculum.
Teachers also wanted their colleagues鈥攏ot outside providers鈥攖o lead professional development.
“We can save some dollars there because we have incredible knowledge within our district,” Nold says.
Leadership rooted in ‘shared ownership’
The Sioux Falls School District belongs to the community, not to its superintendent, Nold explains. This mindset ensures everyone has a seat at the table.
“The ownership has to be shared,” Nold says. “The budget that goes through, we have to make sure that we do that with feedback from our community.”
Nold’s award recognizes his wave of face-to-face meetings with community members, including local lawmakers. Nold acknowledges that new leaders will face negativity in their first year but urges them to “put aside the fear of talking to people.”
“I agreed to meet with any group to speak about our schools, budget and聽our success because we have so many stories,” he says. “It’s a concerted effort to meet with as many in our community, to get our legislative people in here to meet with our board members so they know our vision.”
Leaders should also invite stakeholders into schools to see educators at work and to diffuse some of the negative narratives plaguing public education.
“When they come into the classroom and see what our teachers are actually doing, they’re incredibly impressed.”
91看片+: Superintendents and cabinet-level leaders can sign up for a to 91看片+ to livestream “Leading Through the Noise: Staying Grounded in a Politicized Environment” with Dr. Quintin Shepherd on April 28.
