5,000 signatures reached
To: Brookline School Committee, Town of Brookline Officials, Massachusetts State Officials and Congressional Delegation
All Educators are Essential—Reverse the Brookline Layoffs
They must reverse the cuts to staff and services!
No layoffs and fully fund our schools now!
No layoffs and fully fund our schools now!
Why is this important?
The Public Schools of Brookline has sent out 300 layoff notices, taking public schools in exactly the wrong direction and sending the wrong message about our values as a community. We the undersigned demand that the School Committee immediately rescind these notices. We call on them to join immediately with the Select Board and other town officials as well as legislators to find short- and long-term solutions to the town’s fiscal challenges. Each and every one of Brookline’s educators is essential.
The School Committee wants to calm down members of the community by ascribing their “fear and anxiety” to “rumors and misinformation.” But the layoff notices speak for themselves with their final paycheck dates and unemployment filing information. For the School Committee to say disingenuously that “no programs have been cut” while eliminating every teacher in some of them is like dropping a neutron bomb on our school community -- harming the people while keeping the structure intact. But this crisis calls for new and unprecedented fiscal design.
We know that cuts will fall disproportionately on more economically vulnerable educators, including the majority of staff of color because they have grown in number recently. We stand with our staff of color. BEU Diversity Chair, Jason Montrose said, Brookline’s educators of color “are filled with anger, frustration, and sadness. Whether or not you received a pink slip, these unjust layoffs, due to a lack of oversight by elected officials, have deeply impacted our teaching and learning community of color. We as a community have to worry about this as we deal with a pandemic that is disproportionately impacting communities of color. This is on top of the unlawful murders of people of color with little to no justice served and widespread xenophobia that is plaguing our country because of the COVID 19 pandemic.”
The cuts – target 25% of the staff to fill a 5% budget shortfall and leave $26 million reserves -- show how little this school committee understands what it takes for a school system to teach the whole child. Demoralizing, sweeping cuts of vital parts of a well-rounded education -- arts, librarians, early childhood, literacy coaches, specialists, vocational ed, K-8 world language, health and wellness, and more -- are depicted as largely temporary. However, many of our talented educators will leave forever rather than be shown the disrespect of being expected to sit and wait to see if they will have work or not. Fully fund our schools and reverse the cuts now.
The School Committee wants to calm down members of the community by ascribing their “fear and anxiety” to “rumors and misinformation.” But the layoff notices speak for themselves with their final paycheck dates and unemployment filing information. For the School Committee to say disingenuously that “no programs have been cut” while eliminating every teacher in some of them is like dropping a neutron bomb on our school community -- harming the people while keeping the structure intact. But this crisis calls for new and unprecedented fiscal design.
We know that cuts will fall disproportionately on more economically vulnerable educators, including the majority of staff of color because they have grown in number recently. We stand with our staff of color. BEU Diversity Chair, Jason Montrose said, Brookline’s educators of color “are filled with anger, frustration, and sadness. Whether or not you received a pink slip, these unjust layoffs, due to a lack of oversight by elected officials, have deeply impacted our teaching and learning community of color. We as a community have to worry about this as we deal with a pandemic that is disproportionately impacting communities of color. This is on top of the unlawful murders of people of color with little to no justice served and widespread xenophobia that is plaguing our country because of the COVID 19 pandemic.”
The cuts – target 25% of the staff to fill a 5% budget shortfall and leave $26 million reserves -- show how little this school committee understands what it takes for a school system to teach the whole child. Demoralizing, sweeping cuts of vital parts of a well-rounded education -- arts, librarians, early childhood, literacy coaches, specialists, vocational ed, K-8 world language, health and wellness, and more -- are depicted as largely temporary. However, many of our talented educators will leave forever rather than be shown the disrespect of being expected to sit and wait to see if they will have work or not. Fully fund our schools and reverse the cuts now.
How it will be delivered
The BEU will deliver the signatures via email to:
Brookline Select Board
Brookline School Committee
Brookline Town Administrator
Brookline Advisory Committee
State Legislators
U.S. Senators and Representatives