Final Cuts to Be Decided
After Contract Negotiation
Last week the residents of the Levittown School District narrowly approved the $197,907,475 school budget. With the passed budget will come some layoffs; the Levittown School District has sent notification to 108 district teachers, informing them that they may be among those to be laid off.
Superintendent of Levittown Schools, Dr. Herman Sirois told the Levittown Tribune that the actual number of personnel who will ultimately be let go has not yet been determined. He said, “We needed to send out many more letters of notification of possible layoffs than the actual number of layoffs that could take place.”
Dr. Sirois explained that layoffs are determined by seniority within each department. Class schedules are created based on the staffing availability. He said notices had to be sent to all personnel who might be affected.
“We won’t know the exact number of positions that will be cut until negotiations with our bargaining units on contractual concessions are finalized,” said Sirois. “No one wants to cut any position, but with no increases in state aid for the past several years, almost $4 million cuts in state aid for next year, and over $4 million in increases in the costs of unfunded state mandates, the district had no other way in which to present a balanced budget to the community.”
Sirois asserted that, as he has stated before, even with contractual concessions, at least 35 positions will be cut.
