Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Layoffs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents and union question district over 35 layoffs of family engagement liaisons
Summary
At its April 14 meeting, Marion County School Board heard public criticism of the district’s handling of 35 layoffs affecting family engagement liaisons. Speakers and board members said communication gaps and collective-bargaining seniority rules produced unexpected losses; the superintendent said the district followed the contract and HR met individually with affected staff.
Public commenters and union representatives pressed the Marion County School Board on April 14 over the district’s recent layoffs that removed 35 noninstructional staff positions, including family engagement liaisons.
Narbella Haynes, who said she serves as a family liaison, told the board she and colleagues were told principals would decide who to retain under site-based budgeting, but learned instead that the district applied seniority rules from the collective bargaining agreement. “Not one time were we told that just because your principal put you in the budget, you would not be the person to keep the job,” Haynes said, arguing the process had been handled “less than transparent.”
Union representative April Rose McCoy said the eliminated positions performed core tasks — building relationships with families, connecting them to resources and helping remove barriers to student success — and urged the district to explain the criteria used. “The 35 individuals who were laid off, they were not numbers on spreadsheets. They were people,” McCoy said.
Superintendent Dr. Danielle Brewer told the board that district staff followed the language of the collective-bargaining agreement when implementing layoffs. “We followed the language that’s in the collective bargaining agreement, which states in 7.02 exactly how we have to handle layoffs, and that is based on seniority,” Brewer said, adding that the executive director of HR met with employees in person during the two-day process.
Board members expressed sympathy for affected staff and asked for more budget information. Several members said they had been surprised by the impact of seniority rules when site-based budgeting was implemented and said the situation illustrated the limits of board authority where union contracts apply. Vice Chair Lori Conrad and other members urged the superintendent to continue advocating for schools and to explore ways to support displaced employees.
The discussion threaded into the board’s wider conversation about budget uncertainty. Chair Dr. Sarah James and others said the district remains in a difficult fiscal position because the state legislature had not yet adopted a budget, limiting the board’s ability to restore positions immediately.
What’s next: Board members asked HR and the superintendent to provide clearer documentation of the layoff decision process and to return with budget updates. Several board members said they hope displaced employees can be rehired within the district when vacancies arise.
