Naperville District 203 may reduce its staff by about 97 positions in the coming school year as it aims to close a $12.4 million budget deficit and realign staffing levels with its current enrollment.

The board is expected to vote March 16 proposed Monday by district administration.

Under the plan for the 2026-27 school year, the district would reduce administrative positions by seven — going from 104 administrators to 97.

It also would cut the number of certified educators by 90, decreasing the count from 1,567 to 1,477 full-time equivalent positions.

Superintendent Dan Bridges said it’s hoped most of the reduction can be achieved by not filling positions created through resignations and retirements.

On Monday, the board approved a one-time enhanced retirement incentive with the Naperville Education Support Professionals Association to provide a monetary stipend for eligible staff who retire before the start of the 2026-27 school year. The agreement allows for employees with 15 or more years of continuous service to receive between $800 to $1,200, depending on the number of years they’ve been with the district, if they submit an irrevocable notice to retire.

Last month, the board approved a one-time retirement incentive agreement with the Naperville Unit Education Association, the district’s teachers union, in which eligible staff could receive full retirement insurance benefits for retiring this year without meeting previous notification requirements.

The process to reduce staff weighs heavily on the school community, Bridges said.

“We all recognize the strength of what we do comes from the people who serve our students every single day,” Bridges said. “We recognize the discussions about staffing can create some uncertainty and stress, which I know they have. The work our staff does for our students each day matters deeply, and the care they bring is what makes this district special.”

Streamlining staff is one way the district is hoping to close its budget gap.

The district also is looking at ways to reduce discretionary spending and eliminate redundancy, such as consolidating software platforms, reducing travel expenses, cutting department and building spending and bringing some services in-house.

With these cuts, the district is hoping to reduce the deficit by nearly $4 million, Bridges said.

He added that even if the district eliminated all travel expenses, it would be minimal savings and the district would still have more than a $12 million deficit, which is why the elimination of some jobs is necessary.

Board member Holly Blastic said the staffing projections keep her up at night.

“Every staff member, we value and appreciate,” she said.

She acknowledged that with the district’s five-year forecast, the board has to make difficult decisions.

If nothing changes, the deficit for fiscal year 2027-28 is anticipated to be $14.8 million and nearly $18.5 million for fiscal year 2028-29, according to the district’s five-year financial forecast.

By fiscal year 2029-30, the district would have exhausted all of its reserve funding, the forecast states.

“I recognize we do have to do something,” Blastic said. “We don’t want this hanging over heads year after year. That weighs on families. That weighs on staff as well. My biggest concern was that we are turning over every rock and looking for every single dollar before we get to staffing.”

The district is continuing to lobby for more state funds and grants as well.

Reducing staff is expected to better align the district with its current enrollment and return to sustainable pre-pandemic staffing levels. The administration recommendation does not plan to eliminate programs and is being designed to provide the least impact to students, district documents said.

Katie Matthews, assistant superintendent for elementary schools, said about 875 fewer students are enrolled than 12 years ago.

However, the district added more than 185 certified staff, documents said.

“Addressing this misalignment is necessary to ensure long-term fiscal stability while continuing to meet student needs, Matthews said.

One-time federal pandemic funds that are now expired and higher-than-usual investment income helped support higher staffing levels. District officials have said they prioritized staffing while students recovered from pandemic learning loss.

Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/03/naperville-d203-job-cuts-teachers-budget/