Last night at the BOE meeting, the paraprofessionals read a letter to the Board regarding the outsourcing of their positions, their role in the classroom, and why many of them will not return.

Read the letter from our PTAs/HSAs to our governor on Patch.

On July 1, 2010 all the 75+ paraprofessionals employed by the South Orange/Maplewood school district will lose their jobs.

The positions will be outsourced. If current paras wish to apply for these positions, they will be required to accept significantly reduced pay, and will receive no health benefits.

Please join the Special Education parents in a peaceful protest of this decision. Wednesday, March 31st, from 6:15-7:15, on the sidewalk outside of the BOE Building, 525 Academy St., Maplewood.

We want the Board of School Estimate, the Board of Education and the community at large to know that:
• we are disappointed that the budget cuts have fallen
disproportionately on special education.
• outsourcing the paraprofessionals is a decision that will
negatively impact many classified students as well as many general education students and teachers.
• we remain deeply concerned that outsourcing these positions
will result in aides in the classroom who do not have the experience and extensive training needed to handle the complex issues that special education children face, and this will affect the quality of education for ALL of our children.
• many people in our community care deeply about special
education.
• we support our paraprofessionals and remain grateful for their
many skills and exceptional dedication to our kids.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT OF OUR PARAS
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION

JOIN US Р6:15-7:15 – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31
525 Academy Street

As some of you may know, Superintendent Osborne testified before the NJ Senate Budget Committee yesterday on the topic of state aid reductions.

His remarks are on the District site.

Also, today he sent a letter to our governor, as reported by Patch.

The drastic reduction in state aid for school districts is having a devastating effect on districts throughout New Jersey, including ours.

Some of the damage, including some of the cuts our own school district has been forced to make, are outlined in this NJ.com article.

Next year promises to be even worse.

The Our Children Our Schools Campaign is a coalition of some of NJ’s most prominent education advocacy and civil rights groups whose goal is to inform public debate on important education issues such as school funding, and to advocate for high quality education for all New Jersey children.

Their current campaign for the full funding of state school aid should be of great interest to parents in the South Orange-Maplewood community. If you would like to learn more about this effort and/or sign a petition, please see the flyer.

The petition can be printed out, signed, and mailed in or you can sign online (instructions are included in the flyer).

In the wake of the state’s unprecedented and deep cuts to district revenues, the superintendent and all administrators have agreed to a salary freeze for the 2010-2011 school year.

Superintendent Brian Osborne said, “This action by our educational leaders puts children first and above self interest. This is a model of what it means to share sacrifice for the sake of our children’s future in time of adversity. Their contribution will go a long way to protecting the instructional program and educational excellence of our public schools.”