Safety Administrators Cut as Part of Jefferson County Public Schools Budget Changes

Louisville — Some school safety administrators say eliminating their positions as part of district-wide budget cuts will make schools less safe.

On Feb. 13, the JCPS Board of Education voted 5-2 to approve central office restructuring aimed at addressing the district’s budget crisis. The changes will eliminate hundreds of jobs, including all 74 positions in the School Safety Administrator program.

Safety Staff Raise Concerns

Emery Richardson, a 13-year JCPS employee who has worked as a safety administrator since the program began in 2022, questioned the decision to cut approximately $3 million from the safety program.

Safety administrators said they were initially told in January that half of the positions would be eliminated. Less than two weeks later, they were informed the entire program would be cut.

Richardson said staff were never told the role would be temporary and had received positive feedback about their performance.

Curtis Moss, another safety administrator, described the job as prevention-focused. Responsibilities include:

• Conducting school-specific threat assessments

• Managing weapon detection systems

• Checking students when detection systems are triggered

• Building relationships with students

• Addressing behavioral and safety concerns before incidents escalate

Moss said threat assessments can span multiple days and require extensive interviews to ensure protocols are followed properly and schools are legally protected.

Administrators worry those duties will now fall to assistant principals, counselors or other school staff — potentially stretching already limited resources.

Superintendent Responds

In a previous interview, JCPS Superintendent Brian Yearwood said safety protocols will remain in place despite staffing changes.

“At the end of the day, our schools will be safe,” Yearwood said, emphasizing the district is “right-sizing” to create a sustainable budget.

School safety administrators have been told they may apply for a new role called Risk Assessment Coordinator. However, those currently in the positions say the new job would require travel between multiple schools and would focus more narrowly on weapon detection systems rather than relationship-building.

They also said the new position would come with an estimated $30,000 pay reduction.

As JCPS moves forward with budget adjustments, some safety staff fear it may take a serious incident before the impact of the cuts is fully understood.