Nearly five dozen school position cuts were announced Wednesday, with another dozen on the way.
During a special meeting, the Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A Board of Education approved a staffing plan and six resolutions by a vote of 4-2 that will eliminate the employment of 42 teacher positions, 12 paraprofessional/secretary positions and four administrators, effective at the end of the school year.
School Board members Janet Hughes and Karen Siston cast dissenting votes on each of the seven motions.
“We are reviewing everything, and we will continue,” said School Board President John Wood. “I wish a lot of things could be different, but they’re not right now. Our responsibility as a board is to move forward.”
Conversations are still ongoing, and the option of opening teacher contracts was offered to the teachers’ union, Wood said Wednesday before the board voted. Opening contracts could scale back the staffing cuts, but it is something the union would have to agree to, he said.
“We did put on the table reopening contracts for salary and benefits, which is a big step and a lot to consider for that group,” Wood said.
Michelle Nevin, president of Local 604 of the American Federation of Teachers that represents the district’s teachers, declined to comment on the potential for contract negotiations.
“While we are extremely saddened by the loss of almost 25 percent of our staff, we remain focused on (standardized testing) and providing quality education for our students,” Nevin said.
The staffing plan includes the reduction of 70 total positions for an estimated savings of $3.17 million.
The dismissal of the nearly five dozen employees announced Wednesday is expected to save the district $2.89 million. Formal letters and conversations with the employees being dismissed is expected to take place today.
The administrative staffing plan also lists the reduction of 12 buildings and grounds employees that could save an estimated total of $278,300. So far, none of these employees have been dismissed. Bargaining with the union that represents those employees is ongoing, Superintendent Tim Ricker said.
A total of $3.56 million in expenditure reductions is expected for next year, according to the district’s financial report.
An audience of teachers and community members remained silent as the School Board voted on the dismissal of employees. However, during the public comments section that followed, those who spoke rallied the room by calling on the community to work together.
Each comment was followed by a loud round of applause.
