New Rochelle district to cut over 100 positions amidst budget gap
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NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (PIX11) – Teachers, security guards, and custodians are some of the more than 190 positions that will be eliminated in the New Rochelle School District Budget.
There is a $20.2 million gap in the budget.
Superintendent Corey Reynolds recently wrote in a letter to the community, "To be clear, 200 positions is the middle ground. There is no scenario under which we don’t reduce positions."
The Board of Education held a meeting Thursday night to vote on the budget.
It also calls for a 3.95% tax levy increase, which Reynolds wrote is "the same percentage voters approved last year - which, this year, exceeds the tax cap and will require 60% approval to pass."
Parents, like Kerri Gillet, told PIX11 News she's concerned the teacher layoffs will result in "much bigger class sizes, which would be terrible. Honestly, my daughter only has about 20 in her class, which is a good size for this size district. Doubling that would be a big impact."
Jennifer Scherz, another parent, said, "It's really sad. I think there was a lot of fiscal mismanagement. It's just heartbreaking because a lot of these teachers, they're fantastic. We don't want them to go; it's not just the teachers; it's guidance counselors and security."
The budget was adopted unanimously, with two BOE members absent.