Thirty-one teacher assistants working for Gaston County Schools lost their jobs in August.
Most worked in first-grade classrooms. They were let go because this year’s state budget did not include money for the positions.
Fifty assistants were originally on a list to lose their jobs.
The school system saved 19 of those using federal money for disadvantaged schools that pays their salaries.
What’s next?
The teacher assistants who lost their jobs had the opportunity to come back to work for Gaston County Schools, said Superintendent Reeves McGlohon.
They were offered the chance to take other jobs, mostly assistant jobs in different classrooms. Some were in different schools. Some were in different areas, including exceptional children’s programs.
The money to hire them back came from vacant positions in other classrooms, McGlohon said. But the jobs eliminated leave empty chairs in the classrooms where they originally taught.
“The concern that I have is that still means there are fewer people working directly with children, especially at the early grades,” he said.