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West Orange Board cites budget shortfall as it shifts to 6–8 middle schools and trims staff
Summary
Facing an unprecedented budget gap, the West Orange Board of Education approved staffing and operational changes that include consolidating middle grades to a 6–8 model, administrative consolidations, and transportation adjustments; Superintendent Hayden Moore said some job losses were reduced from an initial projection of about 100 to 'less than 30.'
The West Orange Board of Education on June 16 described budget-driven changes that will reshape middle-grade configuration, staffing and transportation while promising measures to maintain curriculum continuity.
During public comment, Josh Goldbar, a Roosevelt Middle School teacher and president of the West Orange Education Association, said the district initially faced a forecast of "100 job losses," and praised district efforts that he said ultimately brought the number "down to less than 30." Goldbar urged that the community and board remember that layoff impacts are personal: "These are not FTEs. They are mothers, fathers, people starting their career," he said.
Superintendent Hayden Moore told the board and audience the budget required difficult but necessary trade-offs. He described administrative consolidations that reduced some positions and required remaining administrators to absorb additional duties, and he outlined a plan to organize students into middle schools serving grades 6–8 to improve continuity. "We will do more of a surgical work with more of our students in understanding their development as they move from sixth to seventh to eighth," Moore said, framing the reconfiguration as an instructional strategy as well as a cost-saving step.
Moore acknowledged the resignation of the district's director of transportation and said the department will be restructured to preserve essential services: "We're looking to maybe have a transportation supervisor similar to a director" while breaking some duties into dispatcher and support roles. He described a pilot expansion for live bus tracking and student ID use to improve route data and security.
The superintendent also highlighted ongoing facilities projects and efficiencies: Washington School has completed an air-conditioning upgrade, and electrical upgrades are being staged across older buildings to permit further climate-control work. Moore said the district is prioritizing maintenance requests with a more localized approach that asks principals and head custodians to help identify urgent repairs given limited funds.
Board members recorded support for the superintendent's approach in subsequent routine votes approving personnel, finance and report items. The board did not take additional separate action on the middle-school reconfiguration during the meeting; policy changes tied to graduation requirements (Policy 5460) were advanced on first reading to return for a second reading and potential adoption next month.
What's next: the board scheduled Policy 5460 for a second reading in July, said administrators, and indicated follow-up meetings with parent groups and staff will be arranged over the summer to address transition logistics and community questions.
Sources: public remarks and the superintendent's report at the June 16 West Orange Board of Education meeting, West Orange High School Library Media Center.
