Northville School Board Cuts 19 Staff Positions

The unanimously voted Tuesday night to make 19 staff cuts to its center programs – special needs programs at and schools – because of a funding shortfall through Wayne County.

Funding for these programs, Superintendent Leonard Rezmierski explained to the board, comes from the county's tax dollars.

"We, like every other district, have lost funding," he said. "We don't have the funding to maintain the quality we've enjoyed."

According to the district's website, the center programs offer services to students, from Northville and throughout Wayne County, with various disabilities including physical impairment, visual and hearing impairment among others.

The cuts include six teacher positions and 13 paraprofessionals who assist teachers. Old Village serves students from ages 3 to 13 years old while Cooke School works with children from 14 to 26 years old.

School board president Joan Wadsworth said to center program staff in the attendance, "all of us recognize the tremendous contribution you've made to our program."

The school board also voted unanimously voted to approve tenure for 10 staff members in the district.

Rezmierski made a distinction between the source of funding for staff pay, which comes from the general fund, from dollars spent on the center programs.

In addition to approving tenure, the school board also approved a resolution to honor 17 retirees, including . He will be replaced by , assistant superintendent of instruction.