Dozens of staff members will soon be out of work as a Massachusetts school district deals with a deficit of over $1 million.
The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District has a budget shortfall of about $1.39 million. Teachers and other workers — 25 in total — have learned their last day will be Nov. 21 — the Friday before Thanksgiving.
A newly-formed budget subcommittee met for the first time Wednesday night.
“We will continue to support any and all impacted staff to make sure they have the appropriate resources to get through this challenging time,” said Kevin Kavka, president of the Whitman-Hanson Education Association and a history teacher at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School.
He said he and other teachers are concerned for the students.
“There’s going to be kids who, all of a sudden, have a new teacher, so we want to continue to support both the staff and the administration in that process,” Kavka said.
Leaders are planning to cut teachers as the school district is short by about $1.4 million.
The union issued a vote of no confidence in Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak last week at a school committee meeting.
Szymaniak took blame for the financial mess.
“I should have made sure everyone understood where we stood before it became a crisis,” he said at last week’s meeting. “I didn’t do that, and that’s on me.”
Kavka said the accountability is a start.
“We continue to work with administration to get an understanding of what has happened, and also, of course, trying to make sure that things are put in a place that they don’t happen again,” he said.
Another school committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 19, at the high school. Members of the community are hoping more information and answers will be given.
Amelia Fabiano
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