WEST SENECA, N.Y. — The West Seneca school board voted Tuesday night to adopt its 2024-2025 budget plan.
The $158,652,032 budget has a $5M shortfall. In order to fill that gap, the district is proposing to cut 47.5 positions across the district.
- 19 teacher layoffs
- 11.5 through attrition (retirement)
- 10 non-teacher position layoffs
- 7 non-teacher cuts through attrition
Dozens of students, parents, and staff impacted by the cuts turned out to the meeting at West Elementary Tuesday night.
"They haven't talked to us about it.," said Darryl Hertel. "They just dictated to us what what they're doing."
Hertel is the CSEA president for the West Seneca school district. Several of his union members are losing their jobs if the budget passes a public vote.
A half dozen members of the public spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.
"If I brought a test home with a 47.5, I'd be grounded, " one student said.
Brian King, a vice president of the CSEA union that represents workers in West Seneca told the board the temperature of the public about their budget plan.
"The West Seneca school district community is angry," King said. "The taxpayers, faculty, staff, and students are angrier than I've ever seen."
Interim superintendent Dr. Jeffery Rabey presented the budget to the board and public for nearly an hour. Rabey answered questions from the board regarding the situation the district is facing.
Board Vice President Molly Dana read a lengthy letter and thanked the board for their work on the budget.
"We are faced with difficult decisions which loom in our minds and keep us up at night," Dana said as we described the difficulty of their positions as volunteer board members.
Ann Houck, president of the West Seneca Teacher Association spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting and said the association can not support the budget.
"These layoffs are the result of a budget process that has silenced stakeholders and not offered opportunities for those who most closely interact with the students of West Seneca to offer their input regarding potential cuts," Houck said.
Despite the opposition from the public, and the words of understanding by some board members about the public sentiment--the board voted unanimously in favor of the budget.
The vote came after a 5-minute recess following the public comments, and upon returning from the recess the board went into the first of two executive sessions--allegedly to discuss a personnel matter.
A budget hearing will take place on May 7 and residents in the West Seneca school district will vote for or against the budget on May 21.
No board members or the superintendent would talk with 2 On You Side after the voted to go into a second executive session.
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