Eight staff members at the 21st Century Charter School in Gary were laid off Friday after enrollment fell short of projections.
Kevin Teasley, the founder and CEO of the GEO Foundation that operates the school, said Monday the school furloughed one administrator, two teachers and five classroom assistants.
He said one irate, laid-off teacher “destroyed” her classroom before she left Friday.
“This is unfortunate,” Teasley said in a memo to staff about the staffer who was not identified.
“We staffed to serve 800 K-12 students and 60 pre-K and did not meet that goal,” said Teasley in an email.
He said the school’s K-12 enrollment is 739 with 41 pre-K students.
The layoffs will save the school about $500,000 he said.
“The decisions were not easy, nor wanted,” said Teasley who said the staffers who lost their jobs did nothing wrong. “The sad truth is that the school was and is under-enrolled.”
Teasley said it’s important to note the staff members were furloughed, not fired. He said that gives them the opportunity to receive unemployment benefits.
The school has an elementary school at 556 Washington St. and a grades 7-12 school at 724 Washington St.
Twitter: @ccwriterPT
