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Teachers and union raise concerns after district begins removing classroom printers
Summary
Teachers and the WLEA told the board removing classroom printers will harm instruction and special-education supports. The district cited security and cost as reasons; teachers proposed hardwiring printers or allowing teacher-owned printers as alternatives.
Teachers and union leaders told the West Orange Board of Education that a district plan to remove classroom printers is already creating instructional problems and should be revisited.
Deb Cohen, a 25-year teacher in the district, said removing printers hurts students — particularly special-education students who rely on printed materials for IEP compliance and for editing — and warned centralized copier machines frequently break down. “This decision that affected every teacher K–12 was made without input,” Cohen said.
Josh Goldfarb, president of the West Orange Education Association, confirmed the phaseout is already underway in elementary schools and moving into middle schools. He described security and cost as the administration’s stated reasons but said the district can reduce risks via alternatives such as hardwiring printers to classroom computers or allowing teachers to keep printers if they accept responsibility for maintenance and supplies.
Goldfarb said copiers are already unreliable: district copy machines have frequently jammed or been nonfunctional, he said, and redirecting all printing to few central copiers will create bottlenecks and lost instructional time.
Superintendent Moore acknowledged budget constraints and cited security and cost pressures in the technology area but did not commit to reversing the decision at the meeting; he asked administrators to review teacher concerns and to involve staff in implementation discussions.
No formal policy vote took place. Union leaders asked the board to consider interim measures (hardwiring, opt-in teacher ownership) and clearer communications prior to further rollouts.
