Parents and teachers voiced concerns during a public hearing regarding proposed cuts to social work positions and the Home Hospital Instruction Program within the Rochester City School District. The district is awaiting state budget approval and recently received $5 million in grant funding which may help mitigate some cuts. Separate reports detail a shooting and a fatal stabbing in nearby areas.
People hold up signs protesting the potential cuts of positions in the Rochester City School District during an RCSD board meeting Tuesday, April 21, 2026.
Rochester, N.Y. — Several concerned parents and teachers spoke during the Rochester City School District's public budget hearing Tuesday night. Some signed up to speak out against proposed cuts to a number of social work positions, including a large part of the district's Home Hospital Instruction Program.
"There are kids who are on home instruction for no fault of their own," said Lisa Silverstein, chairperson of the district's Home/Hospital Teachers Unit. "They are sick, they are medically fragile, they are special ed students with IEPs. They can't just be thrown in a Google classroom and that be called an education.
" RCSD leaders said since the release of its budget draft, the district has been awarded nearly $5 million in grant funding. They hope some of that money can help support those programs.
"I am excited about what the superintendent was able to speak about this evening," said board president Camille Simmons. "The additional dollars that have been identified to address some of the priorities stated tonight, so our school social workers, our home/hospital situation — all of those things are things that have to be considered. "RCSD is expected to vote on its budget May 5.
However, district leaders said their spending plan is dependent on the state's budget, which is nearly three weeks late. Rochester, N.Y. — Two people have been hospitalized after a shooting that police suspect happened in the Maplewood neighborhood. Geneva, N.Y.
—A missing man whose body was found inside an Ontario County motel room over the weekend had been fatally stabbed, according to a felony complaint.
Rochester City School District Budget Cuts Social Workers Home Hospital Instruction School Funding
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