Board adopts 2025–26 budget 6‑3 after tense public comment; counselors and support staff urge reversal of cuts including director position

The Washington Township Board of Education on May 13 approved a 2025–26 budget by a 6‑3 vote after extended public comment focusing on proposed staff cuts, including elimination of the district director of counseling position.

The budget vote came after many residents, school counselors and district employees urged the board to reverse recent decisions. “Eliminating this position removes our voice as counselors at the table where decisions are made and policies are formed,” Wedgwood Elementary counselor Christy White told the board, urging reconsideration of the cut to the district director of counseling.

Speakers detailed the director’s role coordinating counseling across all grades, emergency response, crisis work and advocacy for removing state testing duties from counselors. Rowan University professor Kara Eva described a long partnership between the university and the district and said Director Jennifer Grimaldi had “increased services, access, and partnerships” and was instrumental in crisis response following recent tragedies.

Multiple counselors and school staff recounted operational impacts, including that middle‑school counselors were assigned state testing coordination this year and that cutting the director role would fragment services. Chestnut Ridge Middle School counselor Dina Leonard and school counselor Guy Crowley said the director ensured consistent procedures and crisis planning, and that eliminating the role after recent events risked weakening coordinated responses.

Support staff and paraprofessionals stressed that proposed cuts to hours and benefits would immediately affect employees and students. Attendees described situations where aides and support staff routinely work beyond scheduled time to ensure student safety at dismissal, run buses and handle behavioral needs; speakers warned that lost hours and benefits would harm the district’s most vulnerable students. One public commenter said thousands of community members were watching online: Nicole Lanuti reported 851 people logged into the district stream while urging decorum for the many students watching.

Speakers also raised timeline and process questions. Board members and administration reported that non‑tenured staff had received nonrenewal notices when a budget had not yet been approved; after the budget passed, administrators said they would follow standard personnel timelines and notify affected employees. Board comments in the meeting noted that notices legally required by May 15 had been sent and that administration would continue personnel communications.

Board members and the public asked for more clarity about bumping and tenure rules; board counsel explained in general terms that staff with tenure in a certificated title are placed according to seniority within that certificate area and that reductions in force are handled within those groups. Members urged more public engagement and recommended surveys and retreats to inform future budget planning.

The public response at the meeting included appeals from parents, teachers, counselors and union representatives. The Washington Township Education Association president acknowledged the complexity of the decisions and noted the board’s efforts to preserve some positions after supplementary revenue was identified. Still, speakers emphasized the human cost of cuts to people who provide day‑to‑day support for children.

The board carried the budget 6‑3. Several speakers asked the board to reconsider the director of counseling cut; the board did not reverse that action at the May 13 meeting and directed administration to follow personnel notification procedures and to return personnel items as appropriate for future agendas.