The Houston Independent School District is undergoing a reorganization that could save the district more than $8 million, the district's top financial officer Melinda Garrett said Thursday, but will result in more than 200 full-time positions, from clerical staff to teacher's aides, being eliminated.

The reorganization process has already started. HISD has hired two of three chief school officers and announced earlier this week it had hired 14 of 22 school improvement officers.

District officials say the restructuring should eliminate duplication of services and ensure equal distribution of resources to all schools in the district.

During a school board workshop Thursday, Ann Best, the district's chief human resources officer, explained that more than 800 employees will be given letters that explain how their position will be changing or eliminated.

Some of the letters will include information relating to new supervisors; others will explain that particular positions were funded with stimulus dollars and could be eliminated as early as next school year.

Superintendent Terry Grier provided said a new process for handling employee grievances is part of the restructuring plan. The new process would divide responsibility for overseeing hearings among school improvement officers, whose positions are above the principal level in the new management structure. Grier said this would eliminate "the perception of deals being cut."

For more, see reporting by the Houston Chronicle.