NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A Long Island school district is set to lay off 32 teachers at the end of the school year due to budget deficit, district officials announced in a letter on Monday.
The Amityville School District made the decision due to a $3.6 million deficit, according to Superintendent Gina Talbert.
Talbert sent out a letter to the community, stating, “as a result of cuts made to our teaching staff, looking ahead to the 2024-25 school year, class sizes will increase to pre-pandemic levels. Unfortunately, contending with our budget deficit, we have made the difficult decision to excess staff members in a variety of positions across the District at the end of the current school year.”
It was confirmed that 32 teachers will be let go, according to New12.
According to Talbert, the deficit comes from multiple factors including increased costs for services for students with special needs, unexpected charter school enrollment growth, and rising health insurance expenses.
Talbert also mentioned that several grants funding district programs are set to expire, necessitating personnel adjustments due to funding losses.
"As a result of cuts made to our teaching staff, looking ahead to the 2024-25 school year, class sizes will increase to pre-pandemic levels," Talbert said.
“These are lives that are being impacted,” Nakia Wolfe, president of the Amityville Teachers Association, told News12. “In addition to being angry and frustrated — we are very disheartened. As teachers and school professionals, we rely on school leadership to manage the school properly,” Wolfe told Newsday.
The state comptroller had identified Amityville as one of five Long Island school systems facing fiscal strain.
Talbert also acknowledged the district's depleted reserve funds and outlined plans to address the issue.
“This is not a decision we came to lightly, as we greatly value all staff who have dedicated themselves to our district and the students of Amityville,” she said. “Again, I understand that this is difficult news and will likely raise questions from members of our school community.”
As the district navigates through budget planning, Talbert assured the community, "We will continue to share information with you as we move through the budget planning process for the upcoming school year."