Hartford — It appears that a workforce reduction at the Hartford School District will be achieved without further layoffs, though teacher union officials say the reduction has hurt programs for students.

In order to close a $1.1 million budget gap, school officials were geared up for a total workforce reduction of about 14 positions; in March, Superintendent Tom DeBalsi said that five employees at the Hartford High School, one of whom turned out to be Athletic Director Joe James, had been notified that their employment would be terminated at the end of the school year.

In at least one case, a person who was laid off from one position was rehired in a different position, according to Nichole Vielleux, president of the Hartford Education Association.

At the time, DeBalsi would not rule out possible future layoffs at the district’s middle and elementary schools, though he said he hoped that the workforce reduction could be achieved by retirements.

Under a negotiated contract between the district and the Hartford Education Association, April 15 was the deadline to notify workers of a layoff.

Last Monday, DeBalsi said no such notices had gone out.

“The remainder of cuts will be done through attrition,” he said. “I don’t think there are any more layoffs that affect actual current teachers.”

Vielleux said Friday that the contract had been followed, and that the latest reductions in force were achieved through attrition.

However, she said, “we are always concerned to see programs for students suffer.”

Vielleux said that not all of those who had been laid off were finding other employment opportunities within the district.

“In other cases, we are losing people who have been with the district for many years,” she said.

The $35.8 million budget for the 2016-17 school year is about $200,000 less than the current year’s budget, because of a drop in enrollment within the district. The decline in per-student aid rising fixed costs contributed to the $1.1 million budget gap. The district took the unusual approach of presenting the budget to voters without identifying how the $1.1 million gap would be addressed.

The School Board is scheduled to receive an update from DeBalsi on the workforce reduction during its upcoming regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Hartford Town Hall.

Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be reached at mhonghet@vnews.com or 603-727-3211.