West Seneca, N.Y. (WBEN) - After listening to multiple concerned parents and teachers plea for the reconsideration of a new budget that will eliminate over 47 jobs throughout the district, the West Seneca Central School Board voted unanimously in favor of adopting it on Tuesday.
During the board meeting, CSEA 6716 First Vice President Brian King detailed his reasoning as to why the board should vote "no" on the budget, and said that there is still time to reconsider a new one.
During King's speech, he said, "I'm a long standing resident of West Seneca. I'm an alumni of West Seneca East class of 1983, parent of a 2019 graduate from West Seneca West, and a dedicated employee of this district for over 20 years. The West Seneca school district community's angry. The taxpayers, the faculty, staff, students are angrier than I've ever seen. More importantly, from the superintendent to upper level management, including the Board of Education, you've lost their trust, and that's worse. I'm asking you to vote no on this proposed budget. There is still time. You can do better. More importantly, you need to do better. Please, you need to vote no. Thank you."
West Seneca School Board Vice President Molly Dana also spoke during the meeting and shared why she is honored to sit with her fellow board members.
"As parents, one thing is constant for us too, the fight. The fight to ensure children understand and relate to our collective values. The fight to ensure children receive the quality, comprehensive public education they deserve. I wanted to take a moment to thank my fellow board members," Dana said during the meeting. "No one understands the time we set which was our choice to serve our kids and our community. I wanted to publicly thank you, because no one understands how lonely and time consuming this volunteer fight can be, except for you and their families. I'm honored to sit with you, and I'm grateful."
After the meeting, First Vice President of the West Seneca Teachers Association Christopher Galley spoke with WBEN and explained that their vote didn't surprise him.
"Back in 2016, when we had to have layoffs, I was around back then as the Vice President. We worked tirelessly with the district administration to try to find the least restrictive cuts, and eventually we did have to make cuts, but we knew that that it was an absolute necessity to to keep the district viable. We weren't afforded that opportunity this year."
The West Seneca Central School Board declined to comment after the board meeting.
