ANSONIA – School officials sent out a total of 10 pink slips to staffers who could potentially lose their jobs from a lack of funding, according to Superintendent of Schools Joseph DiBacco.

The Valley Indy reported last week that pink slips had been sent out, but did not have an exact number at the time. DiBacco confirmed that reporting in an email Monday (April 13) and said staffers in the following positions received pink slips:

  • One district-level social worker
  • One building-level multilingual teacher
  • One high school English teacher
  • One high school math teacher
  • Two middle school English teacher
  • Four elementary teaching positions

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. 

The Valley Indy reached out to Tyszka for comment, as well as Ansonia Republican leader Tony Mammone, but did not hear back.

The potential layoffs are on top of five administrative positions eliminated in the schools’ budget request for next year. Those positions are assistant director of special education, director of grants, director of communications, director of social-emotional learning, and director of after-school programming.

Those positions had been funded through now-expired, COVID-era grants, according to DiBacco.

Four of the people in those positions have bumping rights under a collective bargaining agreement, according to teachers’ union president Mathew Hough. That means they could replace other staff members within the district if they choose to stay.

The assistant director of special education left the district last summer and was not replaced, Hough said.

Ansonia Public Schools previously 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.