West Orange Schools: A Community Record
Kept by one West Orange parent. Not affiliated with West Orange Public Schools, any PTA, or any other organization. Part of The Front State.
Where things stand
In spring 2026 the district reported a $13.5 million budget shortfall. The Board of Education adopted its budget on May 4 with about 77 staff positions cut, and over the summer it approved an agreement permitting the outsourcing of the district’s paraprofessionals, the aides many special-education students depend on.
Families were told the change would save $3 million a year and that “our students will continue to see the same familiar faces they rely on.”
It is now October. At the September 28 Board meeting the district reported that 176 of the 244 paraprofessional positions it needs were filled, and that 116 of those 176 aides were new this year. Only 47 were returning; 24 positions were vacant and 44 hires were still being processed. As far as I can find, none of this has been published in writing, and neither has the contract or what has been billed for the work.
I have three children in the district, two with IEPs, both in classes with paraprofessionals. The aide my son had for at least two years is gone this year. What I see, and what I hear from other parents and from staff, does not match what we were told in April. But what I hear is not a record, and a record is what a Board has to answer.
So this site keeps one.
The Ledger
The Ledger sets out what the district decided and what it said, with every line linked to its source. It also tracks formal public-records requests for the documents that would settle the rest: the contract, the invoices, and the daily coverage numbers. The requests, their deadlines, and whatever comes back are published in full.
- Timeline — what was decided and said, in order
- Records Requests — the requests, their status, and their deadlines
- What the District Said — the April promises beside the records
The spring proposals
Before the budget passed, this site held a set of community proposals for closing the gap: fifteen modules on everything from health insurance to volunteer grounds work. They are in the Spring 2026 Archive, along with the plans built around them.
They were drafted with a few hours of one person’s effort, working with AI tools. No single proposal was meant to save the district. The point was that a community organized this way could produce many ideas quickly, hand the promising ones to volunteers, and drop the rest. That is still true, and the offer still stands.
Get in touch
- schools@frontstate.org — corrections, replies from the district, press, or anything about the Ledger
- volunteer@frontstate.org — to help
If you write with something you have seen at a school, know that email is not anonymous and that nothing second-hand is published here. It helps me know which records to ask for.