A total of 45 administrative and central office workers are being laid off in Bridgeport Public Schools due to a $38.7 million budget deficit and the pending expiration of federal pandemic dollars, interim superintendent Dr. Royce Avery told News 12 Thursday.

"The school board had no choice but to make these hard decisions -- and it's never easy," Avery said.

Bridgeport City Councilwoman Jeanette Herron says as a board member of the National League of Cities, she played a direct role in getting the federal pandemic dollars for Bridgeport Schools that will be expiring at the end of the year.

"This is a crisis facing school districts across the country, so Bridgeport is by no means alone," Herron said.

"And it's going to be very hard going into 2025 for all of the employees who will be impacted by this first round of layoffs," Herron said.

Avery says he will try to keep any future layoffs "away from the classroom", meaning he will try and protect teacher positions from future cuts.

"But everything is on the table - everything," Avery said.