The Little Egg Harbor School District has already had to deal with controversy this autumn as it attempted to bring its new in-district busing program up to speed.
Well, another controversy is stirred up.
Back on March 10, the Little Egg Harbor School District Board of Education voted by a 4 to 2 margin to eliminate the full-time jobs of 81 paraprofessionals and preschool teacher assistants at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Those positions would then be filled by part-timers.
The move was precipitated by a projected 32.7% increase in district health benefit premiums for the 2026-2027 school year. That increase would add about $2.4 million to the district’s healthcare costs, which were expected to exceed $9.6 million in the next school year,
Full-time paras and aides received district healthcare benefits; part-timers wouldn’t. The district was desperate to reduce costs considering it had increased its tax rate by 32.6% for the 2025-2026 school year.
A huge crowd consisting of former and current paraprofessionals, parents of special education students, and teachers and union representatives attended the board’s next meeting on March 24 to protest the board’s decision, to no avail. The cut was included in the 2026-2027 school year budget. A union representative said the move could be illegal, and vowed to challenge it.
The union, the Little Egg Harbor Support Staff Association, did indeed challenge the decision to the State of New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (NJPERC) on April 15. The argument was that the district, by law, should have met with the association in an attempt to negotiate the problem before making its decision, because health benefits and working hours must be negotiated. It also argued that the March 10 vote was taken in the “new business” portion of the meeting without listed on the meeting agenda, and thus the large crowd didn’t show up until the March 24 meeting.
On Nov. 2, NJPERC ruled against the district, requiring the full-time paras and aides be rehired, paid back wages, and paid for any medical expenses incurred during the time they had lost their district insurance.
Needless to say, that would blow apart the district’s budget. There would be a number of other problems as well. If former full-time employees returned would current part-time employees have to make way for them? If any of those full-time employees had been employed in different jobs would they still be entitled to back pay? Could the state’s ruling be appealed? It is clearly a complicated situation.
School Board President Chris Filiciello and District Business Administrator Carl Morelli released a statement when asked about the situation.
“The Board of Education is aware of the recent decision regarding the District’s paraprofessional positions and is working closely with our legal counsel to determine the appropriate next steps. Our priority is to address the matter responsibly, while keeping the best interests of our employees, students, and school community at the forefront. We remain committed to moving forward in a manner that supports our staff and ensures continuity of services for our students.”
