Details of Paterson school district layoffs released

Forty-seven teachers have been sent layoff notices this month, school officials said this week. Layoff of non-tenured teachers are spread across 43 elementary and high schools in Paterson.

Superintendent Eileen Shafer has said the laid off teachers will likely be re-hired before the start of the 2020-21 school year as funds become available as a result of employee retirements. The district has already begun the process to re-hire eight of the non-tenured teachers, said Paul Brubaker, spokesman for the Paterson Public Schools, on Tuesday.

Shafer was able to avert a much larger layoff with $11.6 million in federal Covid-19 funds. School officials were discussing laying off 243 teachers, but were able to bring that figure down to 47.

The district eliminated 17 central office positions and 57 vacancies from the 2020-21 budget. Five aide positions – employees retiring on July 1 – were also eliminated, said Brubaker.

Elimination of the non-tenured teacher and aide positions produced $3 million in savings. Overall, the reduction in force and elimination of vacancies yielded $3.77 million in savings.

The district had a $63.7 million budget shortfall late last year, driven by charter schools, health benefits, and other increasing expenses. School officials reduced the shortfall to $14.6 million two weeks ago. The district had to raise school taxes by 15 percent and shutter two schools to balance its budget.

District officials have said Paterson schools are underfunded by both the state and local taxpayers.

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Justice Forall

Is this the school district’s version of new math, layoff 47 teachers, pay them unemployment benefits (for which they would not otherwise be eligible) for the entire summer and then rehire them in the fall? No wonder this administration can’t balance a budget.
HankMorgan

Revealing that the district attorney got a $25,000 bonus while Shafer is eliminating positions. She’s been doing this for years. Claims there no money for teachers and schools while handing out enormous raises and bonuses for herself and her cronies.
You need never wonder why Paterson test scores are forever at the bottom of the barrel.
So watching these idiots load up on Mercedes Benzes and expensive homes in plushy suburbs is particularly nauseating.
I said it years ago. She and her administrators are phonies, fakes and frauds. Especially the churchy types.
There is a particular ring in Dante’s Inferno for these a**holes.
Miss jamaica

There should be no layoffs this year in Paterson. Some of these kids will need to play catch up when they go back to school come back in September. If we care about our kids in this school district this must be the very last option.
Our taxes will be increase anyway for why lay-off teachers.
John Brown

Layoff at least 20 ( do nothing) administrator. With large salaries and perks and maybe you'll have a balance d budget.
MarquinhoGaucho

Let me guess, none of the layoffs are from the charters? Why is it that PPS has to layoff teachers but the charters expand and make no sacrifice? What we have is a separate and unequal system that smacks of illegality under 1954s Brown V Board of Ed. 4 out of the 7 BOe members are bought ad paid for by the charters.