WEST SENECA, N.Y. — Students in one of the area's largest school districts walked out of the classroom Friday to support their teachers facing layoffs.
They chanted "Save our Teachers" and marched around West Seneca West and East High Schools. They held signs that read "Support our Staff" and told 2 On Your Side they wanted the district to hear their concerns.
"No teacher deserves to lose their job," East senior Rebekah Fineour said.
"I'm just happy to see this much of an outcry for it, it's really heartwarming," senior Robert Dobe added.
The district is considering letting go of 47.5 staff members at the end of the year. Interim Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Rabey told the school board Tuesday it would fill a budget gap of about $4.5 million.
"The reason I wanted to do it is because I want to become a teacher," said Samantha Birch, another senior at East.
Rabey has said the district faces several budget challenges including the expiration of pandemic grants, the state-mandated cap on school taxes, uncertainty with state aid, and the rising costs of contractual obligations and employee benefits due to inflation.
In an update provided by the Superintendent on Friday, 2 On Your Side learned that the 47.5 job cuts would happen through attrition first accounting for 18.5 jobs, then 19 teachers would be let go and 10 non-teaching positions.
Students expressed concerns that cuts could impact the quality of their education, citing an increase in class sizes.
"A lot of classes are going to become bigger which leads to, if some kids do have a problem then they won't get one-on-one help then that will lead to them falling behind," Birch said.
The school district has noted that West Seneca will maintain some 74 jobs created during the pandemic, without federal aid. and that three district-level positions will not be filled and/or eliminated, a reported savings of $339,666.
In a statement, a district spokesperson said they "understand the students' concerns."
"Though it would be optimal to have the funding to keep everyone on staff, we knew that COVID funding was temporary. As a District, we must remain fiscally responsible and maintain our pre-COVIDarray of programs and opportunities for our students," a spokesperson for the West Seneca Central School District said.
Staff impacted by the layoffs started getting notified on Wednesday. A day later, the teacher's union held a walk-in.
"While certainly, you have to right-size things at times, certainly money and budgets and performance matters however there are apparently things that can get us through these situations and if the funds aren't there we wouldn't know because we weren't brought in to have those discussions," said Michael Barone, a social studies teacher at West Middle School and a union representative.
The union has pointed to the West Seneca CSD's solid financial standing compared to other districts in Western New York and called on school leaders to use more of the district's $23 million in reserve funds rather than let people go.
The district has noted it would already be spending approximately $6 million from that reserve fund in the 2024-2025 budget.
The Associated Press has reported that Gov. Kathy Hochul has backed off a contentious proposal to shift how the state doles out money to school districts — which would have resulted in some schools getting less money. The governor told reporters she would instead revisit the proposal next year, giving districts more time to plan.
It is unclear whether the Governor's reversal would benefit or harm West Seneca.
Amidst, its budget debate the district announced Friday it would introduce its new superintendent on Monday, April 15.
The school board is scheduled to adopt the budget the next day on April 16. West Seneca neighbors will vote on the school budget on May 21.