Early dismissal at East Orange School District as teachers call out sick: parents

EAST ORANGE, N.J. (PIX11) – A New Jersey school district is dismissing students early for the second day in a row on Friday after parents and staff said teachers called out sick amid large-scale layoffs .

At least 93 staff members in the East Orange School District were expected to be out of their jobs by Dec. 15 due to a $25 million budget shortfall . Superintendent Dr. Christopher Irving said with the district’s current budget, the city wouldn’t make payroll by May.

“Where’s the oversight? I haven’t had a pay increase in three years. And guess what I had to do to my budget as a single mom? Cut it,” said Zania Saul, who has been a math coach in the district for 19 years.

Parents told PIX11 News they’re worried about their children with IEPs and special needs instruction, classroom size and whether schools will actually be able to operate with less staff.

“It’s the transparency that we have a problem with,” said Keyonda Williams, a parent. “I’m pretty sure that they may have known they didn’t have the budget to pay the teachers. And that should’ve been expressed before school started.”

East Orange Mayor Ted R. Green also said he does not want the state to take over schools in the city and has been in contact with Gov. Phil Murphy. He’s hoping for more funding by the end of Friday.

Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018 . She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here .

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