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Parents and staff urge board to restore counselors, nurses and emotional-support program
Summary
Dozens of staff, parents and union representatives told the Washington Township Board the planned cuts to three middle-school counselors, nursing assistants and the district emotional-support program (ESP) will harm students' safety and mental health; speakers asked the board to find alternatives to the cuts and to improve communication about staffing changes.
At the June 30 public-comment session of the Washington Township Board of Education, parents, teachers and district staff delivered extended testimony opposing planned staffing reductions and program changes they said will damage student health and mental-health supports.
Rebecca Burr, a long-serving district secretary, told the board she was speaking because a middle-school counselor position has been cut. "I see the challenges and struggles our students are dealing with on a daily basis," Burr said, urging the board to "reconsider this cut" so middle-school students would retain access to counseling services.
Dan Jwabney, a 25-year staff member and school counselor, said the proposed reductions would reduce counselors by 33% at each middle school — from three to two — and called the change a "legacy cut" that would affect all students who pass through those grades. He stressed that counseling involves both proactive programming and time-intensive individual work and urged the board to preserve counseling capacity.
Health staff and nurses outlined safety risks if nursing assistants are reduced. Barry Widner, a school nurse, described daily responsibilities that include managing chronic conditions, AED checks, medication administration and coordinating emergency responses — work he said requires a consistent second adult in the health office. "Leaving the nurse to be unattended alone with other sick and injured adults or students is a liability issue," Widner told the board.
Several parents and former ESP staff described the district's emotional-support program (ESP), which provided targeted support and transition planning for students with severe anxiety, as essential. Parent and former teacher Kelly Ptoria said the program taught coping skills and helped students return to school; multiple parents described being informed late about dissolution or changes to ESP and asked for clear transition plans. Senior student Marley Loka credited the program for enabling her to graduate early and warned that dissolving ESP will harm students who remain dependent on those supports.
During the board's discussion, a board member cited the savings tied to some cuts. The meeting transcript records an administration estimate that reductions related to counselors would save roughly $300,000. Superintendent Hibbs explained the fiscal forces behind the decisions and said the district began the budget cycle with a substantial shortfall that was reduced only after attrition and other measures. "We had almost a $10 million hole," he said in public remarks about the budget situation, and acknowledged the choices were painful.
The board did not reverse the staffing decisions at the June 30 meeting. Members asked administration to produce follow-up information, explore alternatives where possible and provide clearer communication to families about program transitions, ESY dates and staffing changes.
Why it matters: Counselors and health-office staff are the first-line support for many students with mental-health or medical needs; the stakeholder testimony at the meeting underscores community concern that reduced staffing will increase risks and decrease students' access to daily supports.
