Alachua union leaders accuse district of staffing cuts that threaten student supports, file unfair labor practice

Carmen Ward, president of the Alachua County Education Association, told the school board on June 3 that the union is pushing back against wide staffing cuts and reductions in hours that the union says will hurt students.

The union leaders said many education support professionals (ESPs) were notified this month that positions were eliminated or hours reduced. “We have people who were told they have no job, but will be placed in one only to then hear that they were probationarily terminated,” Ward said, urging the board to spend money approved by voters through the district’s 1‑mill levy for positions the ballot language intended to fund.

Crystal Tessman, the union’s vice president for instructional members and chief negotiator for the education support professionals unit, described large-scale, sudden changes to work schedules and benefits. “Many employees had their hours slashed below 4 hours a day. This would have stripped them of their health insurance. We fought back and are thankful that they are now at least at 4 hours a day,” Tessman said, summarizing member complaints about short notice, placement confusion and lost pay.

Tessman said the union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the relevant authority on the day of the meeting, asserting unilateral contract changes affecting 252‑day employees and other conditions that the union says violate bargaining rules. The union also described more than 100 ESP positions that the union says were cut or had hours reduced, and reported that some long‑tenured employees were told their jobs no longer exist.

Board members did not act on the union’s demands during the meeting. Several board members acknowledged the depth of the concerns raised and said staff and the superintendent had been responding to individual cases since the reductions were announced. Superintendent Patton later summarized budget pressures and said district leaders are reviewing placements and options, but did not announce a policy reversal during the meeting.

Why it matters: ESPs provide day‑to‑day classroom and student support — from paraprofessionals and media aides to attendance clerks — and sudden reductions in those roles can affect classroom supervision, special‑education supports and meal‑time or transportation coverage. The union framed the issue as both a student‑impact and labor‑relations problem; the filed unfair‑labor complaint may trigger an administrative review or negotiations between the union and the district.

Next steps: The union said it will pursue the unfair‑labor charge and continue outreach to members; board members and district staff said they will continue placement and grievance work and expect follow‑up from human resources and legal staff.