News10NBC’s Lynette Adams dug into the budget and found out the district, over the last eight months, has had to grapple with a $152 million budget deficit.

This news comes as multiple sources confirm the board will hire Leslie Myers Small to head the Rochester City School District. Many may recall Myers-Small was the superintendent in Brockport before leaving to take a job as an assistant commissioner of education.

Myers-Small will have to deal with several cuts approved on Thursday night, including about 300 positions. These are the jobs of teachers, paraprofessionals, instructional coaches and some central office staff.

While the new budget calls for only one pre-k center instead of the two proposed, the board did restore a dozen of the 32 social work positions that had been on the chopping block.

Currently, East High School is slated to lose $4.5 million.

“There is great pain in this budget,” RCSD Board President Van White said. “Five schools will close as a result of a loss of real revenue. This is a real loss for our children and our families. We, the Board of Education and the leaders at 131 West Broad Street understand that this is going to be very painful.”

He is talking about schools 3, 20, 43, 44 and 57.

White also said the board is keeping track of the money the district is saving by schools being closed during the pandemic.