Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Superintendent Theresa Plascencia promised an overflow crowd of more than 100 people, including 23 paraprofessionals facing layoffs as a cost-cutting reduction in force on July 28, that they would still have jobs this school year.
“I will personally work with each individual along with (Human Resources) to ensure we’re able to place,” she said. “That will start tomorrow. Resignations are coming in; retirements are coming in. They come in every day. We want you in the district and to call Waukegan home.”
It turns out Plascencia made good on her commitment in less than two weeks, reporting to the District 60 Board of Education Tuesday at the Education Service Center in Waukegan that the people facing layoffs were either placed in other jobs or were in the process of completing the paperwork for placement.
“Placement opportunities have been identified for every employee affected by those staffing reductions, both union and non-union,” she said. “The vast majority of placements have already been selected. Human resources is completing the remaining personnel actions.”
Though the people involved all have jobs, along with five external specialists who were part of a different cost-cutting measure, Nick Alatzakis, the district’s communications director, said the moves slashed $1.39 million from the budget for the current school year.
Despite a contentious meeting two weeks ago, which included boos from the crowd and concerns about shrinking cash reserves from board members, Plascencia said teamwork became the theme among the administration, union leaders and employees.
“If we did not all work as a team and reach out to everyone with solutions and grace and understanding in this difficult situation; if we did not work as a team and overcome us versus them, we would not have been able to accomplish this,” she said.
Before the District 60 Board of Education voted 4-3 to eliminate the jobs on July 28, board member Carolina Fabian told Plascencia she intended to monitor the progress and hold the superintendent to her commitment. Fabian demanded a report at each board meeting.
She got it quickly.
“I said I was only going to vote yes on the condition that we place as many people as possible as quickly as possible,” Fabian said. “I know it is not ideal to get your placement right before the school year starts. However, I want to thank the administration and the union for working together to get things corrected swiftly.”
Fabian said paraprofessional union President Sam Thomas personally worked with each affected member for them to find placement.
Knowing vacancies existed where the 23 people might be placed, Plasencia said between collective bargaining agreements with unions, seniority and state law, “every vacancy had to be reviewed to determine which employees were eligible for placement and in what order.”
“We carefully reviewed vacancies, employee qualifications, seniority and contractual requirements to identify opportunities for employees to continue serving our students while ensuring the process was conducted fairly, consistently and in accordance with established procedures,” she said.
Remaining to be formally placed are eight paraprofessionals who did not submit their placement preference forms by the required deadline. Plascencia said they were scheduled to meet with district administrators Wednesday to discuss positions and finalize placements.
“Positions remain available for each of those employees,” she said.
District 60 General Counsel Kathryn Vander Broek said at the meeting the state school code governs the procedure for dealing with educational support personnel when there are staff reductions. It includes “pretty much” any employee not a teacher.
Vander Broek said a process must be followed with written notice and continued employment for 30 days. There is a procedure for those laid off based on seniority and their category of employment.
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“Once that is done, when there are vacancies for which they are qualified, whether it is in the category they were reduced from or any other vacancy that is still needed in the district, then they can have rights to that position for one year from when the (layoff) takes place,” she said.
Alatzakis said the five external specialists, who are contract workers, will also be placed in positions in the district.