On August 15, as students in Yonkers desperately hold on to the last days of summer, Yonkers administrators are back to work with no resolution about the over 300 teachers who were laid-off in June. Principals in Yonkers are trying to calmly deal with the deficit of teachers in each of their schools. However, with no additional funding expected before school starts in September, the outlook is not good for Yonkers Public Schools.
With no additional funding expected from city or state officials, Yonkers administrators and principals are preparing for the 2011-2012 school year with far less than they have in previous school years. With 322 teachers laid-off, principals will have to deal with leading their schools with fewer teachers, less support staff and larger class sizes.
Only 80 teachers will potentially be hired back and only for a reduced pre-kindergarten program. School officials such as Superintendent Bernard Pieorazio are still hopeful that the teachers union will accept a one year pay freeze to create funds that would allow the district to hire back some of the desperately needed laid-off teachers. However, the Yonkers Federation of Teachers has not tried to renegotiate that deal and the union has done no further discussion of the pay freeze.
Although the Yonkers Public School system is facing one of the worst budget crises in decades, Varsity sports are still in place and the district’s website is advertising to have students complete a sports physical. This is only fair for the students that have worked so hard to earn places on varsity teams, but with an impending financial crisis it hardly seems appropriate. Many would argue that having a sports program in a district like Yonkers helps to “keep kids off the streets”, but if they are kept off the street and have no teachers to educate them in the classroom, is this better?
As of the time of this writing, students, parents, teachers and especially administrators are hoping for the miracle that is needed to save the Yonkers Public School system for the 2011-2012 school year. With a $36 million dollar budget gap according to yonkerspublicschools.org, it seems that only a miracle will save the Yonkers Public School System. In the mean time over 25,000 students will be affected by this budget deficit, not to mention the 322 individuals who have lost their livelihood and see little potential for future employment in Yonkers at this time. The principals and administrators in the Yonkers Public Schools truly have their hands full this year, to say the least.
Visit the Yonkers Public Schools website here: YonkersPublicSchools.org
Contact the Westchester Education News Examiner: WestchesterEdExaminer@gmail.com
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