EAST ORANGE, New Jersey (WABC) — The raw reality of layoffs was on full display in East Orange, New Jersey, where scores of school district staff members are about to leave jobs they thought they would have till retirement.
Parents who packed the East Orange Board of Education hoping for a miracle on Thursday night, were stuck with reality.
Nearly 100 school staff members are losing their jobs.
“It’s very nerve wracking to know that starting on Monday, my youngest has no support system in the school,” said parent Eric Jones.
Jones says his 13-year-old daughter will no longer have her school social worker.
“One of the particular social workers, she’s the anti-bullying specialist. So, taking these type of resources out of the school system is absolutely ridiculous,” Jones said.
The layoffs, voted on in October, fueled an ongoing, contentious saga. The board is trying to close a multi-million-dollar budget gap, deepened by what it says is a lack of state funding.
It’s caused parents to have a lack of faith in the school district.
Parent Mushana Dunhambay has a child with special needs.
“What about the Department of Education and being able to, you know, make sure IEPs are in order and services are in order because you have to have an IEP to follow,” Dunhambay said. “But that trickles into not having the staff to cover those things. My child currently was supposed to start the new year with a one-to-one aide, and that didn’t happen.”
Eyewitness News spoke with the superintendent of schools who says this was one of the toughest decisions he’s had to make in his career, but he also said it was necessary for the district to take a step back so that it could move forward.
“Being able to do this allows us the opportunity to finally introduce a budget that has every single teacher, you know, fully funded every single activity, fully funded,” said East Orange School District Superintendent Dr. Christopher Irving.
When asked if he’s confident that the district will be able to effectively move forward without these positions, Dr. Irving responded, “we have to.”
Most of the laid-off staff have found jobs in other districts. Those who remain are left with a bad taste in their mouth.
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