Trenton School District to cut 226 jobs

TRENTON (WPVI) -- Much like Philadelphia, the Trenton School District is facing a big budget deficit.

"There's no money to pay for things. We've cut and cut and cut until there's nothing left to cut," Jane Rosenbaum of the school board said.

Trenton's school board has unanimously approved a $297 million budget. But with a $17 million gap to close, drastic cuts are required.

Monument Elementary School on Pennington Avenue will close next year and, districtwide, 226 positions are being eliminated including teachers, paraprofessionals, and custodians.

"We just don't have any money and when you don't have any money it hurts everybody. Nobody wants to be cut, nobody wants to lose their job, but it is what it is," custodian Charlie Smith said.

As she looks over the numbers, Naomi Johnson-LaFleur, the head of the teachers union, says the city and the state have to increase funding for schools which has remained flat for years.

Johnson-LaFleur says the expansion of charter schools in Trenton has to be stopped because it's diverting desperately needed money. Next year, the district will pay charter schools about $36 million to operate.

"We are taking dollars away from the traditional public schools which serve the majority of our students," Johnson-LaFleur said.

But the superintendent of schools says the board has tried to retain as many resources for students as possible.

"Every cut is a bad cut...We were able to keep counselors in every school, a nurse for every school. We were able to keep arts and music for our students," Dr. Fancisco Duran said.

Still, parents worry about what closing a school and cutting back on staff will mean for students.

"That means there's less attention to the kids, which means more kids will probably fall behind and then the cycle just repeats and it's not going to be good for those kids as they get older," parent Garrett Windley said.