The Duluth public school district had to cut around $2.6 million from the current school year, and for the next school year they’re tasked with cutting a further $5 million.

We spoke with Duluth Public schools superintendent John Magas on Tuesday January 21 about what cuts are expected to be made for the coming school year.

“There are no great places to reduce,” said Duluth Public schools superintendent John Magas. “There was nowhere that we thought, ‘Oh, we can’t wait to reduce in this area.’ But we try and figure out what reduction that we can make that’s going to have the least impact on our kids.”

With the majority of their budget going to staffing and benefits, a reduction in staffing is expected.

“Our budget is about 85% staff and benefits,” said Magas. “It’s impossible to keep cutting other areas without having some effect on our staff.”

The district tells us that affected staff will be notified by the end of the month, and any layoffs won’t take place until the end of the year.