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http://heraldargus.com/articles/2011/06/30...56559140211.txt

End of stimulus funding, Title 1 change lead to MCAS cuts

From Staff Reports
Published: Thursday, June 30, 2011 5:02 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — The Michigan City Area Schools on Tuesday laid off 16 instructional assistants working in second-grade classrooms and an additional seven paraprofessionals at Elston Middle School.

One special-education paraprofessional also was laid off as a Reduction in Force.

Superintendent Barbara Eason-Watkins said the 16 instructional assistants were paid through stimulus funds, and the positions were only available for two years. This year marked the end of that funding. The school corporation now will post nine assistant positions for elementary reading programs that have been funded for one year.

Seven paraprofessionals were included in the layoff from Elston as the school is now considered a Title 1 School, according to the superintendent. The federal government designates a school Title 1 based on the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. The paraprofessionals who were laid off did not have the qualifications required by the federal government for working in a Title 1 school program, Eason-Watkins said.