The district has been able to reduce the total number of layoffs within the school system to approximately 30, but the issue continues to be a point of contention between the administration and the Warwick Teachers’ Union.

Initially, 64 teachers were given layoff notices, equating to about 49.5 full-time equivalents. Philip Thornton, superintendent of Warwick Schools explained, however, in June The Labor Relations Board found that the district was in violation of the 2014-2015 contract, which stipulates the district can only notify 40 people and layoff only 20.

New Union President Darlene Netcoh said with this ruling the previous contract is in “full effect,” and the department must abide by it until a new agreement is reached.

“The school department should have never gone ahead with this layoff plan to begin with, but they continue to operate as though they can do whatever they want while we are working on the contract,” she said.

Thornton said the department is looking into methods of appealing the Labor Relations Board’s decision, but in the meantime, over the course of the spring, as employees retire or take other positions within the district, the final layoff count has declined to about 30.

“We can retain the savings from the reduction, but from a human resources perspective we are seeing less staff reductions, which is good news,” he said.

He said the district has done a lot of “inside hiring.” Individuals who received notices earlier this year have filled positions such as technology teachers for the junior highs, math interventionists and full-time kindergarten teachers.

Districts can’t “anticipate” what their people are going to do and with several other positions listed on SchoolSpring.com, where the district accepts applications, layoffs could be reduced even more.

Positions listed on SchoolSpring include special educators, teacher for the deaf, elementary principal, school psychologist, technology education, school nurse, ELL teacher, speech language therapist, administration systems analyst, and accounting and financial reporting officer.

Thornton said positions are posted and filled every day in a “fluid process” that could lead to a further decline in the total number of layoffs, but he could not promise it would reach the contract’s stipulation of 20.

“We are still seeing a lot of movement. It could be different week to week,” Thornton said. “It could get down to 20, but we can’t assume anything.”

Mayor Scott Avedisian believed this was the expectation “all along,” that with “attrition” the layoffs would be smaller and smaller.

“That thinking has proved very effective,” he said. “Between layoffs declining and construction on the schools moving forward, I think people have a sense of optimism again, and that’s good for everyone.”

Netcoh found the issue of layoffs “disingenuous” because there is not a “proportional” amount of layoffs within the administration; rather, administrative positions were added at both high schools, such as the assistant principal of teaching and learning.

Thornton said that with more students and teachers in the individual schools there needed to be more administrative oversight, but Netcoh argues why there isn’t a similar pattern for teachers who are in the classroom with the students.

Netcoh said it would be great if the decline in layoffs were in recognition of the department’s obligation to abide by the contract, but she believes “they see now they need those teachers for the system to run.”

She said the administration acted like the schools were all “ghost towns,” but the department has been allotted 20 layoffs annually and hasn’t come close to it in the last 10 years.

Netcoh believes it was recognized then that to lay off more than 20 would be a detriment to the student experience. With a mass exodus of teachers you subsequently have increases in class sizes.

“That’s why the stipulation was agreed upon to begin with,” she said, “to ensure our students don’t suffer. We need to make sure teachers can do their job, to meet the needs of every student. That’s what we love to do; that’s why we do this.”

Thornton said in reviewing class sizes, it is “in black and white; we are staffing to the needs of our population,” and the decline in layoffs is due to employees making “personal life decisions,” such as retirement, not to accommodate for an issue with class sizes.

“In my mind, it makes fiscal and educational sense that since we have fewer schools and fewer students we have to reduce our workforce as well,” said Thornton.