Glenbard high schools' layoffs will reduce services

Glenbard High School District 87 students who need extra help from teachers might have a more difficult time finding it next year.

Officials are moving ahead with a plan that means eliminating the equivalent of 18 full-time teachers. The layoffs will result in higher class sizes and force many who offer students help on the side to return to their classrooms full time.

"It will definitely have an impact on students who need those services the most because we are going to have to try our best to support those at-risk kids," said Rod Molek, assistant superintendent for human resources.

The 18 full-time equivalent positions eliminated include 38 part-time teachers who received their annual non-renewal notices and six full-time, nontenured positions.

The brunt of the effects, however, will not be felt until fall. Molek said he expects the district to call back between six and eight part-time teachers. That number is usually closer to 20.

Glenbard Education Association President Tom Tully said an open process regarding the cuts made the layoffs easier to digest. In October, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Chris McClain made presentations to the teachers union that provided it with specific numbers.

"When it was all laid out, we got very little kickback from the teachers," Tully said. "We buy it and we understand the bad times."

Although Tully said he was concerned with spending priorities in the district that might have saved some of the positions, including the district's plan to install turf at Memorial Field, he was pleased Glenbard avoided the large-scale layoffs that occurred in some neighboring districts.

"We don't know the effects yet because next year we'll get to see what is not covered," Tully said. "But we're in a little better shape than most."

Molek said the district also eliminated the full-time equivalents of 1.3 people in the administrative staff and 5.2 people in the support staff. Overall, the cuts will save the district about $2 million.

Meanwhile, the district continues to wait for the roughly $6 million the state owes.

"It's a tough time economically for everyone, not just the schools," Molek said. "We'll do the best we can to weather the storm."