Kankakee School District 111 is cutting upward of 70 staff positions in a move to address its budget deficit.

The district is also hosting a job fair this Saturday for employees affected by the reduction in force.

The reduction in force includes both positions that are being eliminated and positions that will remain vacant and not filled moving forward.

Superintendent Teresa Lance said the total number of positions eliminated or not filled for the 2026-2027 school year is 74.

This reduction is expected to result in savings of just over $3 million, she said.

The district is working to reduce its deficit as it plans for the upcoming fiscal year. Currently, that deficit sits at around $5 million.

“We have (an) over $5 million budget deficit, but more than 80% of our dollars are tied up in people,” Lance said.

“So, when you have a significant deficit like that, the only way you’re going to begin to balance the budget once you look at your facility, utilities, the only place left, unfortunately, is in people.”

All position groups across the district have been impacted by the reduction in force, ranging from classified staff to certified teaching positions and certified administration positions.

The reduction includes less than five total classroom teaching/intervention positions.

It also encompasses food service personnel, transportation personnel, maintenance personnel, paraprofessionals, security personnel, and social emotional learning coaches, along with four central office positions not being filled.

Due to attrition, a number of employees are anticipated to be recalled back to the district, Lance noted.

Staffing for next year is still being finalized, she said.

In March, the Kankakee School Board approved resolutions authorizing reductions in various staffing areas.

On March 10, the board authorized a reduction in force of a total of 42 educational support personnel, to be dismissed June 3.

They included two clerical staff, three food service staff, 10 full-time paraprofessionals, five non-instructional part-time paraprofessionals, five student safety interventionists, eight support staff, and nine transportation staff.

Also on March 10, the board authorized the honorable dismissal of four social emotional learning coaches at the end of the school year.

Then, on March 23, the board OK’d the honorable dismissal of two physical education teachers by the end of the school year.

It also approved the reduction of two non-union educational support personnel, including a family support specialist and a mental health specialist, who will be dismissed June 9.

Additionally, it approved the non-renewal of three non-tenured teachers after this school year, including a teacher, an assistant principal and a guidance counselor.

Lance said that she and James Henderson, assistant superintendent of people services, had more than 60 individual meetings with affected staff members.

“We wanted individuals to have the opportunity to meet with myself and/or Dr. Henderson, with the hope that we can answer their questions and reassure them that we’re going to do our best to try to help find them employment,” she said.

Job fair information

On Saturday, the district is hosting a job fair for workers that were affected by the reduction in force.

The New Beginnings: Career Connections Job Fair will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Kankakee High School cafeteria.

This event is designed to connect employers with District 111 employees looking for employment as a result of the reduction in force.

“This is not just about saying you individuals, ‘You are no longer an employee of our district at the end of the year,’” Lance said. “We really want to make sure we do all we can to help our employees find a job, because they are losing their job not because of their performance or anything that they have done wrong.”