On Monday, Apr. 13, the Pascack Valley community made their voices heard at the Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education meeting following the news that the district was considering laying off its entire custodial staff within the next 90 days.
Teachers, support staff, students, and members of the community attended the meeting to show support for the custodial staff. Some teachers also wrote letters to the board, and some members of the community took to social media to express their thoughts on the situation.
“Healthcare is essential and needs to be maintained,” a parent said on Instagram. “So if it’s ‘cost-savings’ you’re looking for, look somewhere else. Not taking away the livelihoods and healthcare of those that keep our schools clean and safe for our kids. Those that take care of our kids need to be protected!”
Teachers, students, and community members wore blue — both at school and at the board meeting — in support of the custodial staff.
Public comments began two hours after the meeting started, yet most attendees stayed to show support for the custodial staff. The section of the meeting lasted 75 minutes, with 26 speakers. Fifteen teachers and faculty members spoke, eight students, and three other members of the community. All 26 speakers opposed the idea of the custodial staff being cut.
Pascack Valley History Teacher Ken Sarajian talked about the ‘three c’s’ that are important to remember at Valley: community, character, and commitment.
“[The board] has a big problem,” Sarajian said. “The situation is changing. Our dynamic is changing. This is not the community we’ve had from the start.”
“In my eleven years in the district as a student and a staff member, I can tell you first hand that the most important people in our building are our custodians,” PV Physical Education Teacher Ron Villone said. “Right now we are entering a situation where those who do the most are currently getting overlooked the most.”
Pascack Hills Guidance Counselor Erika Franceski, who is also a member of the school climate committee, mentioned that each year, student sense of physical safety ranked the highest in all domains in the district’s annual climate survey.
“One finding stands out amongst the rest,” Franceski said. “Across both schools, across all respondents, our strongest domain every single year is a shared sense of physical safety. No other domain even comes close.”
“[The custodians] are here at 4:00 a.m. during a blizzard to make sure our parking lots and walkways are clear,” PV Video Production Teacher Michael Sherman said. “These people have pride because not only do they work here, most live here. They are your neighbors; their kids may also go to the same school.”
A parent of a PV student and small business owner, Tim Bainbridge, also asked the board to consider finding a cheaper healthcare plan that does not include weight loss drugs which increase healthcare costs.
“I understand your predicament. Rising costs are something we have to deal with — I get it,” Bainbridge said. “The number one abuse [of the healthcare system the district is on] is Ozempic — all of these weight loss drugs are put on the plan and we’re paying for it… the solution is not to cut [the custodians]. You need to cut that healthcare system and shop for a system that does not support Ozempic.”
One teacher from Pascack Hills chose not to make a speech, but to ask all attendees in support of the custodial staff to stand. Most of the room — including board members — stood.
Board of Education member Michael Weaver also chimed in after public comments concluded, stating that the school funding system is broken, which he blames on the New Jersey state government.
The Board of Education meets next for its budget hearing on Monday, Apr. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Pascack Hills High School.
This is a developing story that The Valley Echo will continue to cover.
