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Support staff urge transparency after district eliminates positions; board says cuts are 'difficult' but necessary
Summary
Support-staff leaders and paraprofessionals told the Evanston Township High School District 202 board that recent staffing reductions—"20 21 positions were eliminated across the district, and 10 of those were from the support staff bargaining unit," a union leader said—were made without adequate consultation and risk harming multilingual learners and students with IEPs. District leaders said they are aiming to minimize classroom impacts and offered support for affected employees.
Veronica McKinney, identified as support staff president, opened the public-comment period by saying, "As you know, 20 21 positions were eliminated across the district, and 10 of those were from the support staff bargaining unit," and urged the board to adopt more transparent, collaborative budget processes.
Other speakers amplified that theme. Marianne Casselberry asked the board to "keep students first" and to pause and fully examine alternatives to cuts. Sherry Iverson, World Languages Lab specialist, described the lab’s role (63 computers, specialized software, placement testing and support for the seal of biliteracy) and said closing the lab would reduce instructional rigor and preparedness for an Illinois…
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