**Whitman-Hanson School Committee Delays Layoff Notices Amid Budget Deficit Concerns**
*WHITMAN, MASS. (WHDH)* – Teachers, families, and members of the Whitman-Hanson School Committee gathered for an emergency business meeting Thursday night, expressing outrage over dozens of potential staff layoffs and what they described as a “lack of transparency.”
Originally, notifications of 25 layoffs were scheduled to be sent out Friday morning. However, following a vote by the school committee board, the distribution of these notices has now been postponed by 30 school days.
The school committee members stated that the decision to issue layoffs came as a surprise to them and was presented on short notice for the district as a whole. The delay was intended to allow time for exploring alternative options.
“The impact of these shifts two months into the school year is catastrophic,” said one committee member.
Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak explained that about two weeks ago, a business manager contracted from outside the district discovered a budget deficit of more than $1.3 million for the upcoming school year.
“The outside firm looked at our budget, looked at our numbers, and recommended an $800,000 plus cut immediately to sustain where we are to make sure we were not in deficit at the end of the FY26 year,” said Szymaniak.
As a result, the proposed budget cuts meant that 25 employees were slated to receive layoff notices Friday morning, with an additional five positions lost due to resignations or retirements left unfilled.
“There are still unanswered questions regarding the situation and how we got here as a district. Cuts were made to our units with minimal cuts to the rest of the district,” stated a woman representing the Teachers Union.
Szymaniak also expressed concern about the timing of the delayed notices, noting the upcoming holiday season. “That concerns me, because I don’t have answers right now,” he said.
Parents voiced worries about the potential impact of the layoffs on their children. Amy Gavin, a parent, shared her frustration: “I am so upset and frustrated that they’re even considering reducing staff, especially our special-ed staff. You cannot have children build a rapport for the first two months of school and rip that caring adult out of their life.”
The business manager responsible for discovering the deficit was not present at Thursday’s meeting. As a result, Szymaniak said he cannot comment on how the district arrived at this financial situation. However, he added that the business manager will attend the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
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*Stay tuned for updates as the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District continues to navigate this challenging budget situation.*
https://whdh.com/news/dozens-of-whitman-hanson-teachers-could-face-layoffs-due-to-1-3-million-budget-deficit/
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