ANSONIA – The school district issued pink slips to staffers who could potentially lose their jobs from a lack of funding.
State law and union contracts mandate the pink slips be issued if there is a potential for school system layoffs. It’s important to note that no one has lost their job yet as a budget has not been approved.
This is happening because Mayor Frank Tyszka’s administration proposed a budget that flat funds Ansonia Public Schools next year at $38,612,089.
The Ansonia Board of Education had asked for a $923,004 increase. Tyszka said the city can’t afford an increase due to bad financial planning under Mayor David Cassetti’s administration.
While the issuance of pink slips to warn of school system layoffs isn’t unique in Connecticut – and often the jobs end up being saved – Ansonia is in a fiscal crisis, according to Tyszka, who brought in an outside budget consultant to review finances.
The pink slips were first discussed by members of the public on Facebook community pages in recent weeks.
The Valley Indy contacted several school officials this week in an effort to confirm the chatter on Facebook. After receiving no response, a freedom of information request was submitted to the school district on April 9.
Superintendent Joseph DiBacco said the schools were on spring break this week and the request would be processed when staff returns.
The Valley Indy posted a question on its Facebook page asking the public for help.
Mathew Hough, the Ansonia teachers’ union president, confirmed on Valley Indy Facebook that pink slips were recently sent.
“Yes, teachers were given pink slips,” Hough wrote. “They went out prior to April 1 due to contract language.”
Hough estimated around 5 percent of certified teaching staff received pink slips.
“If the budget stays as is, these jobs will likely not be reinstated. I’m sure the specifics will be discussed at the next (board of education) meeting,” Hough said. “These are not the threats of the past. The math is fairly straight forward. Zero increase from the city and zero increase from the state is tough on our schools.”
He said the jobs could be brought back if the city or state increases funding for the school system, or if laid-off administrators with bumping rights are able to find jobs outside of the district.
“As of now, nothing has been passed that indicates an increase for Ansonia schools,” Hough wrote in an email. “An increase in funding from either the city or state would allow us to bring back positions depending on the dollar amount.”
Hough also testified Feb. 17 in front of the state legislature’s appropriations committee, where he urged state lawmakers to increase base-level ECS funding.
“The combination of zero additional funding from the state and zero additional funding from the city would be catastrophic for our school system,” Hough said in his testimony. “The district has already announced the reduction of (five) administrative positions for next year. Without additional funding, we could easily face a 10 percent reduction in teaching staff.”
He said the school district is already struggling.
“Ansonia has been running at a bare minimum scenario for years. Our class sizes (are) at close to contractual limits. We already don’t offer the course selections and electives most districts offer. This will cause our students to be even further behind,” Hough said.
Ansonia Public Schools sent pink slips when the 2012-2013 budget was approved. The school said 10 positions would be eliminated due to a loss in grant money.
Editor’s note: This story was edited after publication to include new information regarding the estimated number of affected teachers.