George LeBlanc has been a senior crisis counselor for the RVCSD for over a decade. He is glue that holds the middle school together. George is called multiple times a day and appears in a flash to support staff with students that are engaging in unsafe behaviors towards themselves or others. He makes the building a safe and supportive environment where students can flourish.

Allison Tosi has dedicated many years to servicing students and their families as a school psychologist for the RVCSD district. She performs evaluations that no other occupation is qualified to do. She support students socially and emotionally every single day. Countless students will lose this support if she is cut. 

Amanda Renner, as a psychologist, provides direct counseling services to our students with significant special needs, pushing into classrooms to teach SEL skills and working with students directly in counseling. 

Megan Murphy-Harris is a full-time speech pathologist who has been with the district for the last 5 years, serving a full-time caseload at Marbletown elementary and High Meadow school, the private school that Rondout is mandated to serve. She works with our youngest and neediest students with communication disorders, helping them learn to use language to interact with their world and those in it..  

Jessica Almonte is a library aide that is the one who knows where everything belonged, who greeted every student with patience, and who made the library feel like more than just a room full of books. As a library aide, she kept things running smoothly, often without recognition, but never without impact. Her kindness, reliability, and dedication created a space where students felt supported and welcome.  

These are just a few of the Rondout Valley student centered positions that are at risk of being eliminated. 

Our friends and family are not just losing jobs; they are losing the opportunity to make meaningful impacts in our schools. These positions include counselors, nurses, teachers, teaching aides and other student-contact professionals who are essential to the educational environment. Their roles are not dispensable—they are pivotal in fostering students’ growth and well-being. 

Budget constraints should not compromise the quality of education. Cutting back on these positions will lead to larger class sizes, inadequate counseling services, reduced special education support, and fewer resources for students. According to the National Education Association, schools with higher student-to-staff ratios perform significantly worse, impacting student performance and future prospects.

There are alternative solutions we could consider to balance the budget without sacrificing our core educational support staff. Initiating a review of administrative overhead, deferring expenditures on non-essential new projects, or re-evaluating contracts for services that do not directly impact student learning could generate the needed funds while preserving these crucial roles.

We urge the school district leaders to explore and implement such solutions rather than diminishing the essential services our students receive. Eliminating these positions is short-sighted and detrimental to educational outcomes.

Your voice matters. By signing this petition, you advocate for a comprehensive education that prioritizes direct student support over arbitrary budget cuts. Your support can help us ensure that no irreplaceable member of our school community is left behind. Please sign and share this petition to secure the future of educational excellence in our schools.