EAST ORANGE, NJ – Schools in East Orange, New Jersey will be on a half-day schedule Thursday after the district announced it Nearly 100 employees will be laid off.
Shortly before classes started, the school district posted on its website: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, all schools will be on a half-day schedule today, October 17. We apologize for the late notice.”
The East Orange School District says there is no other way
Chief Inspector Dr. Christopher Irving, who has only been on the job for three months, says that unfortunately there was no other choice.
The district started this school year with a $5 million budget deficit and has spent more than budgeted through 2024-2025. Without cuts, it will not be able to meet payroll in the spring.
“We want to get out of this situation that we are in. But to do that we have to make some very difficult decisions,” the chief said.
Yet parents and staff are still furious about the decision.
East Orange meets during the Board of Education meeting
It was an emotional scene at Wednesday night’s Board of Education meeting, where the school board voted to eliminate 93 positions, including Spanish and substitute teachers, literacy and math coaches and social workers.
In anticipation of the bad news, district staff and students protested outside the district building prior to the meeting – but that did little to change the outcome.
“I’ve been in education for over 20 years and I’ve never seen this happen,” said Keith Hinton, president of the East Orange Education Association.
“We are already understaffed and now our students are faced with the ordeal of having buildings with even fewer teachers, which means even more crowded classrooms and less help and support,” said district employee Shakinah Lavendar.
Teachers say they have already struggled for the past four years with no raises, and now dozens of them will be out of a job.
“I want kids to get the best, but I also know that for my kids to get the best, all these people have to get the best,” said parent Dr. Louis C. Mosley.
“The entire East Orange community should have a voice and a say in this,” added seventh-grader Mehki Scudder.
Many said they have lost faith in the school district, and other community members are demanding a state investigation.
