Copyright The Boston Globe
The Whitman-Hanson combined school committee voted Thursday to postpone dozens of layoff notices, hours before they were scheduled to go out amid an abrupt and severe fiscal crisis. The layoffs, which would have cut 25 workers starting Friday, were pushed back 30 school days, according to a recording of the emergency school committee session. Officials said the delay would allow the district to explore other options to address its $1.39 million budget deficit. “This is not where we want to be and certainly not where we hoped to be,” said school committee chair Beth Stafford. “This is not a happy occasion. It is not one to be taken lightly, and we do not take it lightly.” The tense meeting, held at Whitman Hanson Regional High School in Whitman, was interrupted several times by angry audience members. Advertisement The layoffs were expected to affect teachers, paraprofessionals and administrative staff. District Superintendent Jeff Szymaniak said at the meeting that district officials had first been alerted to the budget deficit in mid-October. The shortfall was identified by a third-party consultant, after the district’s former business manager had resigned earlier in the year, Szymaniak said. The consultant recommended a cut of approximately $800,000 to payroll, according to a social media post by school committee member Ryan Tressel. Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.
