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WHITMAN, MASS. (WHDH) - Teachers, families, and Whitman-Hanson School Committee members gathered for an emergency buisiness meeting Thursday night, expressing outrage over dozens of potential staff layoffs and a “lack of transparency.” Notifications of 25 layoffs were scheduled to go out Friday morning, but have now been pushed back 30 school days after the school committee board voted to do so. The school committee argued that the decision came as a surprise to them, and on short notice to the district as a whole. Members voted to delay the notices so other options could be explored. “The impact of these shifts two months into the school year is catastrophic,” said a committee member. Jeffrey Szymaniak, the Superintendent of Whitman-Hanson Regional School District, said about two weeks ago a business manager contracted from outside of the district discovered a more than $1.3 million deficit in next year’s budget. “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. The budget cuts meant 25 employees were going to receive layoff notices Friday morning, and another five positions lost to resignations or retirement would not be refilled. “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,” said a woman in the Teachers Union. Szymaniak said he is concerned with the timing of the delayed notices, since it falls around the holidays. “That concerns me, because I don’t have answers right now,” he said. Parents said they are also worried about the affect the layoffs will have on their children. “I am so upset and frustrated that they’re even considering reducing staff, especially our special-ed staff,” said Amy Gavin, a parent. “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 was not in attendance at Thursday’s meeting, so Szymaniak said he cannot comment on how the district got to this point. However, he said the manager will be at the next meeting on Wednesday. (Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
