East Orange, NJ students face half days as nearly 100 teachers will be laid off

NEW JERSEY - Students in East Orange are grappling with a wave of layoffs as the school district prepares to cut nearly 100 positions, including teachers, just before the holiday season.

The East Orange School District announced the cuts, citing a $25 million budget shortfall, leaving students, parents, and teachers devastated.

At a recent town hall meeting, Superintendent Chris Irving acknowledged the district's financial struggles, stating that the budget woes stem from the state's failure to provide adequate funding.

"Newark received $100 million, and our colleagues in Irvington and Orange received almost $15-30 million, respectively. We got $200,000. And for us, we know that's unfair," Irving said.

Community members were outraged by news of the cuts, with many questioning why teachers were hired in September only to face layoffs less than two months into the school year.

The sudden loss of teachers has led to a wave of sick calls from staff, resulting in two consecutive half days for students.

"It's scary now, I don't know how long this is going to go on. Our children are missing a whole half a day because of cuts," said Safiyah Morgan, a parent of a young student.

Now, New Jersey Govenror Phil Murphy is hinting at the possibility of a state intervention.

"You should assume all options are on the table. Our commissioner wanted to meet today, and they could not. I think early next week... he's going to meet Monday. We cannot have a community as big as East Orange continue like this," Murphy said on Friday.