We demand that Burbank School District 111 provides it's full and unreserved support to our children, parents, guardians, teachers, and staff during remote learning.

On August 26, 2020, District 111's superintendent will request the Board of Education to reduce the number of educational support personnel employed by the Board and to discontinue some educational support service staff for the 2020-2021 school year.

We the parents and residents of Burbank, IL request the Board to keep our school's support staff employed to service and assist our children with remote learning. These personnel are a vital support to our schools and play critical roles in helping students receive the resources they need to achieve academically.

School support staff are health aides, special education aides, custodians, and media clerks. These support staff members are also certified paraprofessionals, who have over the years assisted teachers in classrooms, as well as during last spring's online learning.

Those layoffs would come at the worst possible time, at a moment in history when our children are in drastic need of increased support, as our teachers adjust to the challenges of navigating 25+ students through a computer screen, and as families adjust to the challenges of online learning. We find it completely offensive and unethical for the District to deprive our children of personnel and services that would be of needed assistance.

We urge Burbank School District 111 to focus on the immediate crisis at hand which is providing proper education to our students and not budget cuts.