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Posted: 10:44 PM Mar 8, 2010
Job Cuts and Budget Woes in District 122
The District 122 school board room felt heavy as board members voted to eliminate entire programs, their staff and other jobs across the district.
Reporter: Chip Brewster Email Address: Chip.Brewster@wifr.com |
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More than 100 Stateline educators are now out of work as Illinois' financial problems continue to affect local school districts. The latest budget woes are now impacting the Harlem School District.
Parents and teachers spoke before the Harlem School Board and an overflowing room Monday night in an effort to keep District 122's "Rising Stars" early childhood program.
"It's different than every program out there, they actually test them. These are your letters, do you recognize letters in your name versus letters that aren't in your name. Do you know your shapes and numbers and are you communicating that," said Jennifer Kurzynski, a "Rising Stars" parent.
Despite the outpouring of support the board voted unanimously to eliminate the $1.4 million program and its 45 employees. Superintendent Dr. Julie Morris says without state grant funds the district simply can't support the program.
"There's a lot of tough decisions to be made and I know they all have effect on people as well, and so it's tough and people are scared and we'll just keep moving ahead," said Morris.
"Down the line Harlem will realize that they're missing out and financially I think that it will come back to hurt them in the long run," said "Rising Stars" teacher Kim Zaphel.
"I honestly think the decision was decided before we all walked in. Sad, but it's kind of the way it seems," said Kurzynski.
"There's about 182 that are supposed to be coming back next year and their parents will be told 'sorry we can't serve your child anymore,'" said Zaphel.
Two million dollars in other cuts were made including the dismissal of 58 para-professionals as the district restructures its special education program.
The para-professionals and early childhood staff weren't the only ones to be cut. Six other teachers from the high school and two more from the middle school will also be out of work at the end of the school year.
Complete breakdowns of the budget cuts, program reductions and job eliminations can be found by following the links.
Latest Comments
Many students will be doing a protest on 3/19 @ noon. Students re walking out of the building, from HMS, HH9, and the highschool.
I think this decision will be detrimental to our community. Not only will our children be affected but think of all of the teachers and paraprofessionals that will be out of work. This program was not just about children learning their shapes or colors but also about identifying those children with delays early and linking them with the appropriate services to ensure educational success. I think we all need to be taking a stand and writing our congressmen.
How can you cut 58 paras and expect the students with special needs to be successful in the classroom environment? The new sp. ed. model that is being proposed is for "consultants". This means no one is there to make sure the kids that need help are getting it in the classroom. ALSO, did anyone notice that all the Rising Stars teachers are tenured and may be moved into classroom positions as elementary teachers, replacing nontenured teachers? How about we stop all education prep programs at the colleges until those with degrees can get jobs?
