104 Wallingford Teachers' Contracts Won't Be Renewed
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More than 100 Wallingford teachers may lose their jobs.
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It was a list no Wallingford teacher wanted to make. At Monday’s Board of Education meeting, Supt. Dr. Salvatore Menzo read the 104 names of teachers whose contracts might not be renewed next year.
Under the proposed school budget, 40 positions must be cut. The state requires any non-tenured teacher who might be laid off to be notified by April 1, so all 104 of the possible layoffs were notified.
“It’s kind of tough to hear and it’s kind of hard thinking about the future, the way it is finding another job now,” said Danny Almeida, whose name was on the list.
This is the first time that the Wallingford Board of Education has had to take such drastic measures. It’s not something they wanted to do, but had to do, they said.
“This year, unfortunately, we’re in a situation where the financial times are worse and we have to account for some shortfalls in our budget, this year’s budget, as well as the absence of federal and state stimulus,” Menzo said.
Parents and teachers are worried about what the layoffs mean for students. Fewer teachers could mean larger class sizes and less one-on-one attention for students.
“Next year, when he goes back, he has to start from scratch again with a new speech therapist who doesn’t know him, a psychologist who doesn’t know him,” said Anne Cosentino, whose son is a special needs student in the Wallingford school district.
“I understand budgets need to be watched, but not at the expense of our kids,” said Jeremy Pike, another Wallingford parent.
Board of Education officials said they are still looking for ways to decrease the number of layoffs and the superintendent is negotiating some contracts to save money.
“Do we expect to go to 104? Absolutely not, but I can honestly say we’re constantly looking at budget items and we’ve saved hundreds of thousands of dollars already just in the last month,” Board of Education Chairman Thomas Hennessey said.
The teachers who will lose their jobs won't know until May at the earliest. The mayor and town council still must approve the proposed budget.
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