As part of its effort to rebuild dwindling cash reserves and cut $10 million from its budget, Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 plans to lay off 23 employees with a promise from Superintendent Theresa Plascencia to rehire as many as possible.
More Top Picks Best Sauna Blankets For Detox
Plascencia said during a meeting of the District 60 Board of Education, “You have my commitment” to work with each paraprofessional to rehire them as soon as positions become available.
“I will personally work with each individual along with HR to ensure we’re able to place (them and) that will start tomorrow,” she said. “Resignations are coming in. Retirements are coming in. They come in every day. We want you in the district and to call Waukegan home.”
The District 60 Board of Education voted 4-3 to approve a reduction in force of 23 people on Tuesday at the Education Service Center to begin the restoration of cash reserves, and more than 30 people, including some of those impacted, spoke about their views.
Of the 23 people who are part of the reduction in force, 21 are paraprofessionals and two work at the Wraparound Center on the ground floor of the administration building.
More than 100 people were part of the standing-room-only crowd in the boardroom as scores more listened in offices next to the meeting, and dozens more watched on a video screen in the center’s lobby. Many held signs, and some were among those scheduled for layoff.
Board member Rick Riddle, who voted for the measure, said he and his colleagues had a difficult decision to make. Some people in the crowd held signs reading ‘People over Profits.” Riddle assured them there was no profit involved.
“We are not balancing our budget,” he said. “We were told we were going to borrow $40 million like we did last year from our savings. Borrow is the wrong word. We took it from our savings. If we don’t balance our budget soon, we will not be able to pay our bills.”
Board member Jeff McBride, who voted against the layoffs, said the message from the people in the room was strong. He acknowledged many were local taxpayers who help fund the district. He understands what paraprofessionals do.
“I hear what you’re saying when you say our kids need you. I understand when you come in those classrooms, and those kids get to hear what they need to hear at home. They hear you, and they depend on you,” McBride said. “It’s a no-brainer for me,” he added, referring to his vote.
Sarah Zamble, a Glenwood Elementary School teacher, said paraprofessionals play a key role in children’s education. She said they provide support in a variety of ways, educating youngsters “academically and emotionally.”
“Paraprofessionals provide this holistic support,” Zamble said. “They are the ones who provide not only instructional support, but they provide the hugs, the words of encouragement. They provide the support that makes the day of the students.”
Theodore L. Gill is a paraprofessional at John Lewis Middle School. Before coming to the district, he spent 14 years as a member of the special forces of the U.S. Army, earning two Bronze Stars and a Silver Star. He was wounded in battle three times.
Finding “purpose to have somebody to do something for” as a computer assistant at Lewis, Gill said he helps provide students with technology for a 21st-century education. He worries they may not get the support they need.
“By cutting us, I believe they will go back to the Stone Age,” Till said. “We’re mentors. We talk to kids. We play with kids. We cry with kids. We hug kids. We teach them right from wrong. Without that guidance, they’re going to be lost.”
Though the 23 employees are out of a job, Kathryn VanderBroek, the district’s general counsel, said their union contract gives them the right to be placed in vacant positions before anyone else. That right lasts through August of next year.
“You have a right to have vacant positions for which you’re qualified to be presented to you before they are posted or put out for interviewing,” VanderBroek said. “You do have to be qualified for those vacancies. It doesn’t have to be the same category you are holding now.”
Before VanderBroek explained the workers’ rights, Plascencia had already made her commitment to begin the process immediately of placing them in vacant positions as soon as they are available.
Questioned by board member Anita Hanna, who voted against the measure, about the amount of money involved, Gwen Polk, the district’s associate superintendent of business and financial services, explained why they were recommended.
Polk joined the district 18 years ago. She said there were 19,000 students then and fewer than 2,000 employees. The situation has changed significantly, with 13,000 students and 2,500 workers. Without difficult decisions, the district cannot remain financially sustainable, she said.
“If I make a recommendation, it must be something I believe,” Polk said. “I believe right now we are not in a state where we have to panic, but I do believe some very difficult decisions have to be made so we could sustain the educational opportunity for our students. I do not believe we can do something different.
Board President Michael Rodriguez, who broke a 3-3 tie with his yes vote, said after the meeting he was on the fence. He was poised to vote no, but after listening to Polk, his decision was made.
More Top Picks Outdoor Rugs
“I’m looking at the numbers and seeing many of the positions we’re cutting are vacant positions anyway. It makes me wonder the advisability of doing this now and upsetting so many people’s lives. I question the advisability of rushing to do this now,” Rodriguez said. “Based on the information from Ms. Polk, I have to vote yes.”
Voting yes with Rodriguez and Riddle, were board members Carolina Fabian and Angela Ramirez. Voting with McBride and Hanna, board member Christine Lensing voted no.