The School District of Palm Beach County says it has reassigned hundreds of employees after eliminating 244 positions earlier this month due to another year of record enrollment losses.
But for one former employee, the search for a new role is still ongoing.
WATCH BELOW: Former school employee still searching for work after cuts
It started with an email to WPTV.
"This is the email I got from a former staff member at the School District of Palm Beach County asking for someone to listen," WPTV reporter Joel Lopez said.
That former employee is Sandeep Desai, a husband and father of two who spent two decades building a career with the district.
"Pretty much 20 years. I worked with the School District of Palm Beach County. I started as a very low-grade employee in the Department of Transportation in 2006," Desai said. "And slowly and gradually build way up to become IT specialist II, till I was let go on June 30th of this year," he said.
Desai said the district wasn't just a job. It was where he built his career.
"I was extremely proud with my effort and my position because literally, I built my entire career within the district, you know," he said. "So, starting from, let's say, step 0 to reach up to step 10, it's a big achievement for anybody in his life or her life, I would say rather, you know."
That is why he says he was blindsided when he learned his job was being eliminated.
"It was a brief five-minute meeting with our director and just told us that they are not renewing our contract for the next coming school year," Desai said.
"So it was, I was shocked because we were not well prepared, or I was not well prepared how to react to that. I had no clue because after 21 years running 21, you're suddenly going to be out of employment." said Desai adding he immediately started looking for answers.
"Whether it's a performance issue, disciplinary issue, or any kind of, you know, project issue or something, nothing was mentioned," he said.
The district's staffing cuts come as Palm Beach County schools continue to face budget pressures tied to declining enrollment, but the district worked to reassign those impacted to other positions.
WPTV followed up to see how many employees had landed new roles and how many were still looking and the district told WPTV that some of the eliminated positions were vacant at the time and that 201 affected employees had been reassigned to other roles.
Desai said he was hopeful he would be one of them.
"Even I applied some position in the school district itself, and I heard that they're going to help us out, but nothing, no such thing has happened. I don't even get an interview after working in the same organization for 20 years."
According to Desai, he even told district leaders he would accept significantly less pay if it meant remaining employed.
"I was ready to work half of my pay," he said. "What I was making just to support my family."
Desai said he still wants to work for the district.
"Obviously if I get a chance, you know, and I already offered them that I'm ready to take a 50% pay cut," he said.
Today, Desai says his wife is the family's only source of income.
As savings continue to shrink, he worries about what comes next.
"Whatever we saved, we're running out of it now," Desai said. "You know, and bills don't stop. They don't see that whether you have a job or not, you know, they keep coming."
The 55-year-old says finding another position has been difficult despite continued applications.
"So I keep applying everywhere, but I'm not getting any offer or any job at this moment, you know," he said. "And I'm ready to work, but at the age of 55, it's hard to penetrate in a private market where somebody is going to give you an entry-level job."
Desai said he has expanded his search far beyond the technology field.
WPTV asked the district about Desai's application and was told it doesn't discuss individual personnel matters.
As for what he would tell district leaders, Desai says he hopes employees facing layoffs will be given every opportunity to stay employed.
He added, "Just try to think about other side of the story where people like me, who was making uh, X amount of money, now I have a $0 in my wallet."
The district says it continues to evaluate staffing levels based on student enrollment, available funding and operational needs.
Despite the uncertainty, Desai says one thing keeps him going.
"My kids, no matter what, I had to give them a good life," he said. "No matter what I have to do in life, you know, as long as I have a breath and my eyes are open, I'm going to try to provide them a good life. That's it. That's the only motivation I have."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
