Ricardo Richards Junior High teachers and parents stood at the corner of Queen Mary Highway and the turn to the school Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon protesting in opposition to recent Education Department layoffs of 25 teachers and paraprofessionals territory-wide.
Chanting slogans like "Dismantle Education, Destroy a Nation,” and "AYP Really," the group waved to passing cars, some of whom honked in support.
"They say they are for the children, but I feel you cannot be for the children and be laying off teachers," said C. Rogers, a teacher who declined to give her full name. "We are concerned this will have a big impact on the children," Rogers said. Ricardo Richards lost a gym teacher, leaving the school with only one qualified gym teacher for over 500 students, she said. Teacher layoffs at a time like now when the economy is poor and young men and women need higher education more than ever is a recipe for disaster, Rogers said.
St. Croix resident Silver Jackson said she had two children attending Ricardo Richards and was worried about their education. "Some of us rely on the education system to teach our children," Jackson said. "Not all of us can stay home from work to home school our children," she added.
St. Croix Federation of Teachers President James Howell said the protests were scheduled over the lunch hour, "to avoid disrupting the school," and said the dismissals, unlike the protest, were extremely disruptive to the overall school climate.
The February layoffs come after roughly 1,000 government employees were laid off in January due to a severe budget crisis and cash shortfall. From the onset of 2011, Gov. John deJongh Jr. began warning in ever more stark and acerbic terms that more revenues and more cuts were needed to keep the territory’s government afloat this year. The Legislature passed some, but not all of deJongh’s proposals, and government revenues simultaneously came in lower than projected, as the world economic situation continued to stutter along.
Recently, the Legislature passed an increase in Gross Receipts Tax proposed by deJongh last year, but initially opposed by senators. Meanwhile, government revenues remain extremely tight, according to Government House. Several senators in the minority caucus dispute this fundamental point, claiming that there is no deficit at all and the budget numbers are fictitious, but have not offered any evidence that this is so.
In a statement issued last week, Education Commissioner LaVerne Terry said the dismissals were "based solely on the current economic situation." "This is a difficult time for everyone in the territory, but be assured that the Department’s first priority continues to be the education and well being of our students," Terry said.
