Students, teachers and union urge board to preserve librarians, arts and other student-facing positions

Students, teachers and union leaders told the New Haven Board of Education on May 12 that proposed staffing reductions would harm students’ learning and opportunity.

The comments matter because board members will decide how to close the district’s budget gap while educators say those choices risk classroom programs and supports many students rely on.

“Cutting middle school sports is cutting away opportunities for students to build confidence, leadership, and resilience,” said Jason Martinez, a senior at New Haven Academy, during the public comment period. “These people aren't just part of our schools. They are the heart of them.”

Several other speakers recounted classroom-level effects they said would follow from removing librarians, counselors, arts and other staff. “I am horrified that you are considering eliminating all of the school libraries and media specialists here in my community,” said Annalise Jorgensen, the school library media specialist at FAME and East Rock Schools. She described librarians’ work curating age-appropriate collections, teaching internet literacy and collaborating with teachers on research projects.

Ben Scudder, a New Haven resident who teaches in the district, contrasted short-term assessment spending with year-round supports. “What's gonna help their literacy more? This test they take over a few days… or having a librarian all year?” he asked the board.

Rose Murphy, a New Haven Public Schools teacher and past district teacher of the year, described program impacts at Career High School, including recent Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) completions and the risk that eliminating positions would remove prerequisites such as physics needed for students applying to nursing programs.

Leslie Bledo, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, told the board that, despite advocacy at the state level, “right now, layoffs are on pause until we find out more from the state budget.” She and other commenters pressed the district to publish more transparent budget detail and to consider alternatives such as property sales, central-office staffing reviews, and transportation opt-outs before cutting classroom staff.

Student representatives and community groups also described recent organizing. Student leaders reported a May Day rally of about 100 students and an advocacy trip to Hartford; a student speaker noted Connecticut’s current surplus and urged the governor and legislature to prioritize school funding.

Board members acknowledged the comments during the meeting but did not adopt any policy change or motion related to the staffing proposals during public comment. The personnel report later presented to the board listed retirements but did not include the kind of mass layoffs commenters described.

Supporters of the proposed changes were not represented in the public-comment record from this meeting. The board did pause some contract approvals later in the agenda and tabled certain procurement and data-sharing items for additional review, indicating further budget and policy review will continue.

The board did not vote on any layoffs at the May 12 meeting; speakers asked the board to prioritize transparency and to delay any final staffing decisions until the state budget and additional district analyses are clearer.