Ninety percent of school districts are planning staff reductions, 85 percent plan to cut teaching jobs
Hillsborough kindergarten teacher Carlye Dymburt works on math problems with her students. Dymburt, who was looking forward to being a tenured teacher in the fall, is one of many New Jersey educators who is now is expecting to be laid off because of budget problems.
In Hillsborough, where 42 fewer teachers may be in classrooms this fall, the teachers union and school administrators put together packets on resume-writing, job searching and unemployment filing to help laid-off staff members plan their next steps.
In Woodbridge, where about 250 employees, including at least 50 teachers, were told they may lose their jobs, the local union asked the state Labor Department’s "Rapid Response Team" to hold workshops for departing staff.
In Somerset County, the executive county school superintendent is creating a database of teacher layoffs countywide — and any openings in districts that are hiring — in the hope of making matches. But even she worries there may be few available to make.
In a year that has seen New Jersey school districts reeling from an $820 million cut in state aid and record school budget defeats, some 90 percent of districts are planning staff reductions, and 85 percent plan to cut teaching jobs, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association.
In the corporate world, professional outplacement firms might be hired to help. But many school districts and teachers unions, strapped for cash and struggling to cope with unprecedented job loss numbers, are trying to provide some help themselves.
The Newark School District, which normally hosts teacher hiring fairs each spring, is instead holding "separation support sessions" for employees who are losing their jobs. As many as 757 staff members may be laid off, including up to 300 teachers, officials said.
"Change is never easy," said an invitation to the first session, held May 4, which was co-sponsored by the Newark Teachers Union and attended by 30 employees. There is no plan to hire an outplacement firm "as this would incur more expense on our already overburdened budget," district spokeswoman Valerie Merritt said.
Some 13 districts across the state have asked the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development for help with things such as informing employees about unemployment insurance benefits and health care, a department spokesman said.
Somerset County Executive County School Superintendent Trudy Doyle’s office is setting up a database to try to match laid-off teachers with job openings.
A few jobs are available — Warren Township needs an instrumental music teacher and a speech therapist, for example. But even Doyle admitted that "unfortunately, I’m sure there won’t be as many openings as there are candidates right now."
Throughout New Jersey, educators say, such large-scale prospective layoffs are uncharted territory. The New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, is planning workshops on resume-writing and portfolio-building, but spokesman Steve Baker said the focus until now has been on preserving jobs.
"This is brand new to everybody, to have layoffs of this magnitude. In the past, this was something you dealt with, with individual members," he said.
Hillsborough Education Association President Barbara Parker, who began teaching in 1970, said the same: "We have not dealt with this in the past."
Hillsborough Assistant Superintendent Scott Rocco is networking on behalf of staff members. He said a friend who is a Florida principal needs teachers, and Rocco reached out to a recruiter in hopes of passing on resumes.
He said the district is trying to help its staff, but there may be little available. "In a business situation, somebody who is without a job is going to look at other businesses," he said. "Here you’re going to go from one school to another, and all public schools are in the same position."
Triangle Elementary School kindergarten teacher Carlye Dymburt consoles her student, Steven Bordeno, who was upset when he did not get called on to answer a math question during the day's class. She assured him that he will get a chance tomorrow. Carlye Dymburt, a Hillsborough kindergarten teacher, has been told she will be losing her job. The 28-year-old would have been eligible for tenure in September.
"I thought I was going to be going out for dinner and celebrating tenure," said Dymburt, who is certified to teach K-5. She said she loves her job at Triangle School, and spent hundreds of dollars outfitting her classroom with colorful storage baskets and posters.
"I try to stay positive every day for the kids, but I’m very upset," she said.
Her principal, Lisa Heisel, said she hates to lose her.
Dymburt is now figuring out what to do. She applied for a teaching job at a charter school, and would like to be placed in the Somerset County teaching jobs database. She is hoping for a last-minute position in Hillsborough, even a maternity leave position or half-day teaching job.
Her young students realize the situation, too.
Hailey Bianchino, 6, said children in the class began to cry when they realized their teacher would be gone from the school next year.
"She teaches really good," Hailey said. "She’s my favorite teacher in the world. She’s my first favorite teacher."
Notes on the front of the desk of Hillsborough kindergarten teacher Carlye Dymburt from her students tell her how much they love having her as their teacher.
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