Westfield School Board Cuts Arts Teachers Amid Student, Parent Uproar

WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield school officials on Tuesday voted to cut staff positions because of a budget deficit, even after students and parents begged them to reconsider in a nearly six-hour Board of Education meeting.

The board approved the elimination of 24 positions districtwide to make up its $2.3 million budget shortfall. Many of the positions were within Westfield Public Schools' arts department, leading droves of students and parents to stand before the board to argue the value of arts education.

"I know I am one voice," 11th grade student Jane Ritter said. "But the pain I am describing today is felt by every single student in the arts department."

Tuesday night's meeting was a packed house, with the public comment period alone spanning more than two hours.

Following the long public comment session, the board approved the budget by a vote of 8-1 and approved the staff layoffs with a 7-2 vote.

Audience members cheered every "no" vote.

Brief Background

At a board meeting on March 15, school officials presented the district's 2022-23 budget and announced that they would cut some staff and eliminate or consolidate certain bus routes.

About 85 percent of the district's budget goes toward staff salaries; business administrator Dana Sullivan said the district could not cut $2.3 million without cutting staff.

Read more: Westfield Schools To Make Staff Cuts Due To Budget Gap

Word got out that the district would let go or reassign at least 10 faculty and staff members from the visual and performing arts department. The Westfield Coalition for the Arts — a nonprofit dedicated to improving the arts at Westfield schools — encouraged members of the community to show up at Tuesday's meeting, where Superintendent Raymond González and the board would vote on the final budget.

Westfield High School sophomore Skyler Lipkind created an online petition, which received more than 7,000 signatures in support of reinstating fine arts teachers at Westfield schools.

Read more: Westfield Schools Layoff Arts Educators Amidst Budget Cuts

Sullivan said at the March meeting that the effect of the cuts on students would be "very minimal" and that cuts would not result in the reduction of any programs or course offerings.

But many students and parents argued that the cuts will have a drastic effect on students, particularly in the arts, as class sizes will likely increase.

What Positions Will Be Cut?

School officials justified the need to cut staff jobs as a way to balance the budget because of a 2 percent cap on raising the tax levy, rising health insurance costs, state-mandated expenses and a decrease in state aid.

“When you can only limit the tax increase by 2 percent, our hands are tied,” González said.

The staff layoffs were broken down as follows.

• Eight secretary positions (districtwide).
• One elementary world language position.
• Six elementary teacher positions (some held by people who are retiring).
• One intermediate music position.
• One intermediate art position.
• Two intermediate math interventionist positions.
• One intermediate English language arts interventionist position (part time).
• One high school science position.
• One high school music position.
• One theater production manager position.

González said that the number of positions does not equal the number of people being let go. In some cases, multiple teachers share one position or work part time.

"No administrator, no member of this board, took this process lightly," González said. "No one took enjoyment in any aspect of it, and it was personal for everyone."

González added that one of two arts cycle courses will be eliminated at the intermediate level because of a state requirement to implement a civics course for a minimum of two quarters. More information about the requirement is on the New Jersey Education Association's website.

Board President Brenden Galligan reiterated that the cuts will not result in any eliminated programs or extracurricular activities. Galligan and several other board members expressed remorse over eliminating many arts positions and stressed that it was a difficult decision.

“Nothing feels worse than letting people go that did nothing wrong,” Galligan said.

Students, Parents Speak Out

During the two-hour public comment section, community members offered testimony to Westfield's award-winning arts department.

Westfield High School junior Ritter — a member of the high school's theater department and tech crew — said Matthew DiFabio, the theater production manager whose job is being cut, had a major effect on her life.

"I'm sad because I am learning that teachers who I admire and have personally changed my life are being let go," Ritter said. She added: "You're breaking up my family."

"You can replace [DiFabio], but you can never replace the impact that he has had on students here," Ritter added.

Other students attested to DiFabio's value as an educator and his skills in lighting and production design. DiFabio helps put on various shows and performances throughout the district.

Parent and alumni Kelly Yang said taking part in several music ensembles growing up taught her the value of "teamwork, time management, patience and perseverance."

"The priceless lessons I learned from my time in the arts cannot always directly be taught in the class or throughout all athletic pursuits," Yang said. "These skills are transferable to real-world challenges, such as interviewing successfully for jobs and making corporate presentations in large meetings."

Yang added: "I understand the necessity to spend within our means; however, the long-term effects on this town, and particularly on the most talented art students in the district, need to be considered.”

Many parents and young students expressed their appreciation for Benjamin Norkus, a music and chorus teacher at Tamaques Elementary School who is being let go.

Lauren Guberer, a parent of four in the district, said Norkus got her children through the lockdown of March through June in 2020.

"Do you know what the kids looked forward to each day and each week during that horrible lockdown?" Guberer said. "They looked forward to their music class with Mr. Norkus."

"Cutting Mr. Norkus' job sends a message to our children that being enthusiastic and passionate about your career ... is still not good enough," Guberer said.

Community member Jean Lehmberg tied the district's budget issues to the hotly contested Edison fields project, an effort to replace the school's grass fields with synthetic turf that will cost the town $9 million.

Read more: $9 Million Project For New Turf Field Worries Westfield Residents

Lehmberg suggested that the board could redirect the money spent on upgrading the fields to retaining teaching staff.

"Why should the town spend $9 million to improve just one Board of Education property?" Lehmberg said. "You could negotiate more strategically with the town. ... If this saves only one teacher's job, it would be worth the effort."

Other audience members, along with board member Michael Bielen, said they felt the arts department was particularly targeted in the layoffs and that reductions could have been better distributed.

Bielen suggested the possibility of cutting guidance counselors as enrollment in the district has decreased since the pandemic. González said those positions were already stretched thin and that the district could not afford to cut them.

Donna Perone, a parent and former president of the Westfield High School Band Parent Association, compared the school's structure to the human body: The heart and soul were the children, and the brain, blood, sweat and tears were the teachers. She compared the administration to the limbs.

"A body cannot live without their heart, their brain or blood, but can live without a limb or two," Perone said.

Although it would be difficult, Perone suggested cutting some limbs — or administrative staff — to save "the body."

Public comment continued after the board's vote, with many audience members expressing their disappointment in the decision.

A full breakdown of the budget, as well as the full Tuesday night meeting, can be viewed on the district's YouTube page.

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