LORDSTOWN — With the idling of the General Motors Lordstown assembly plant, the Lordstown Local School District is planning some cutbacks that are estimated to save the school more than $200,000 in the next school year.

The district is planning the cutbacks in response to the likelihood it will have less students next year because some workers have been transferred to other GM facilities.

Production stopped at the Lordstown GM assembly plant March 6 when the last Cruze came off the line. The plant was the first of five in North America that GM intends to idle by the end of the year as it shifts its focus toward SUVs, trucks and autonomous and electric vehicles. At one time, the plant employed 10,000 workers.

Lordstown Superintendent Terry Armstrong said the cutbacks are being enacted through attrition — which is when staff members retire and aren’t replaced — job reassignment and expansion of the district’s shared services portfolio.

Cutting positions through attrition is estimated to save the school district more than $93,000. The district had a retirement from the high school it’s not replacing, Armstrong said, saving another $80,000.

A teacher retiring from the elementary school will save more than $37,000 and cutting the director of maintenance and transportation position will save nearly $40,000.

Armstrong also announced a campaign called Lordstown STRONG — Service, Tenacity, Respect, Optimism, Never Giving Up, Giving.

“What was happening was we had students, they were telling me, the principal, the teachers, they were concerned we weren’t going to be around anymore,” said Armstrong.

The campaign is a response to the concerns that have been expressed by students to their teachers and administrators about the future of their families and schools. The focus remains on the students, but the district also wants to provide confidence for everyone that Lordsotwn Schools are not going anywhere, Armstrong said.

He said there were rumors circulating that the school district was going to merge with neighboring districts. The school does not have any plans to do that, Armstrong said.

While the district plans to lose students because of the GM idling, Armstrong said officials don’t want to lose more students because of false rumors the district no longer will exist.

“I talked to students, letting them know we’re not going anywhere,” said Armstrong.

The school also has eliminated classroom fees, pay to participate and established a clothing and food pantry for the community to help alleviate some of the financial burden on parents.

cramey@tribtoday.com