Westfield Schools To Make Staff Cuts Due To Budget Gap

WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield's School Board announced at a meeting on Tuesday that the district will have to make some staff layoffs, as well as cut some bus routes, because of a $2.3 million budget shortcoming.

School Business Administrator Dana Sullivan presented an update on the district's 2022-2023 budget at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting. Because of an 8 percent increase in health insurance costs, the district predicts they will need to spend $2.3 million over their available funds, which will result in some staff cuts.

The district will receive around $6.5 million in state aid for the next academic year, which is actually a $1 million increase from last year's state funding, Sullivan said.

But even with this increase, the district predicts it will need to spend around 2 percent over its available revenue of $116 million.

In terms of cuts, Sullivan said the district will consolidate some bus routes, as well as eliminate certain routes.

"Everybody knows transportation has been a nightmare this year because of the bus driver shortage ..." Sullivan said.

She said some of the current routes are not even running because the district does not have enough drivers.

Because 85 percent of the district's budget goes toward staff, Sullivan said the district could not cut $2.3 million without cutting staff. These layoffs will include some district/school office staff, as well as some instructional and non-instructional staff.

However, Sullivan said the impact of these cuts on students "should be very minimal." These cuts will not result in the reduction of any programs or course offerings.

Sullivan also said the district will draw from its cafeteria account to pay for the cost of lunch supervision as part of these budget adjustments.

Superintendent Raymond González said making these staff cuts has not been easy for the School Board.

“While we recognize that the budget could have been worse, it is not without its own pain and challenges,” González said. “We have individuals whose careers have been in this district have committed to this district and who have just joined this district who may be impacted by this.”

According to Sullivan's presentation, staff impacted by these reductions will be notified prior to May 15.

The full meeting can be watched on the district's YouTube channel.

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