PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The School District of Palm Beach County has confirmed what many feared — layoffs have started. Seventy-six media clerks are already out of a job, and this may be the beginning of hundreds more.
WATCH BELOW: 'I was going to retire. Now, I can't retire,' Tami Slater tells WPTV's Joel Lopez
The cuts are coming to offset a drop in student enrollment and to help fund teacher pay raises approved just last month.
For Tami Slater, Monday’s phone call changed everything. After dedicating 25 years to the district, she thought she had several more years left before retirement.
"Oh, yes I was planning on five to eight more years and I was going to retire. Now, I can't retire," said Slater.
Her position as media clerk at Sunset Palms Elementary was eliminated — just one year after she started in that role.
"It was very devastating. I had to take it all in, I'm still wrapping my head around it. It's a big impact I believe they really need the media clerks," she said.
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Media clerks, she explained, play a crucial role. They often support media specialists and manage as many as two classes at a time — nearly 60 kids. Slater also helped students find books, assisted in the cafeteria, and worked during pick-up and drop-off.
"I really love my school, I love it. I love the teachers I love all the employees the kids," she said. "I cry one day and other days I'm okay but it's still an impact on me."
When asked if she ever thought the teacher raises could cost her job, Slater admitted the thought never crossed her mind, in fact she was in favor of it.
"No. Teachers need to make more, because they do a lot for the school too but I just feel like I should still be there," said Slater.
It’s exactly the trade-off School Board Member Gloria Branch warned about back in April when the raises were approved.
“I don't want to lose anybody. This is serious stuff,” Branch said at the time.
WATCH: Teachers speak out over pay raises
WPTV also brought it up to teachers who pushed for the raises during WPTV’s Let’s Hear It event, as they questioned how the district is using its money.
Ultimately, the pay increases went through — and more cuts are now on the horizon.
The district’s April numbers projected that 192 teachers, 19 administrators, and 43 office assistants could be next.
Slater said the hardest part isn’t just losing her job — it’s leaving behind the kids she’s connected with over the years.
"I feel really bad about that, because I really connected with a lot of them," she said when asked about what message she’d give to students who won’t see her next year. "They will miss me and I will miss them."
She’d return “in a heartbeat” if given the chance.
The district says it will try to re-employ as many affected workers as possible in other positions.
Slater has already applied — but the available role is lower pay and fewer hours.
Now, she’s waiting to see if her application is approved.
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