HAMBURG, N.Y. (WKBW) — An emotional day in the Hamburg Central School District as high school and middle school students walked out of school to protest teacher layoffs.
The district said the cuts are due to budget mismanagement, the loss of federal COVID relief funds, and declining enrollment.
On Monday, 7 News spoke to Kelly Brehm who has two children who attend Hamburg Schools. “So, there's just no transparency. There's no information. A lot of rumors going around” Brehm told 7 News.
WATCH: 'There's no information': Hamburg School parents want answers about layoffs
At a school board meeting on Tuesday, Superintendent Michael Cornell announced there would be staff members laid off as of July 1.
WATCH: Parents and students frustrated after Hamburg Central School District announces layoffs
"It's just sad because I've known these teachers,” said 8th grader Kylie Hoch, who also said two of her teachers are impacted by the cuts. "They've been crying... once they found out on Friday, some of them went home.”
The district said the cuts are in part the result of "budgeting errors" which caused $4 million of reserves to be spent on recurring expenses.
Kylie's mom, Gena Hoch, said she wants more answers from Superintendent Cornell.
"He needs to take responsibility and if that means leaving, he leaves," said Gena. "We have no idea where the money went. It has not happened overnight."
Gena also has two older kids who went through the district, which she says has always been great until now.
“Our school district was flourishing...17 cuts and we don't even know if they're done," said Gena.
During the contentious meeting Tuesday night, Superintendent Cornell addressed the cuts saying in part:
"The last thing that we want to do is lay off a single teacher, a single maintenance, mechanic or custodian or teacher aid. We have amazing people who do great stuff on behalf of our kids every single day.
The reality of it is, we need to make sure that our revenues, our enrollment, our staffing are all in balance. This budget does that."
Kylie said despite the bad news, it is good to see her classmates coming together to support their teachers. She said the high schoolers ran out to meet the middle school students.
"The middle schoolers created a path for them... they were on each other's shoulders. It was awesome," said Kylie.
7 News did reach out to Superintendent Cornell for a follow-up interview concerning the student walkout — he declined, instead, releasing this statement:
"In Hamburg we emphasize a culture of kindness and respect. Built into that is a respect for student voice. We are proud of them for expressing how they feel about their teachers."
