Students at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School staged a walkout Monday morning in protest after district officials announced that 23 staff members were being let go due to a major budget deficit.

News of the deficit has roiled the district, causing the Whitman-Hanson Education Association to issue a vote of no confidence in Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak. Community members packed a School Committee meeting on Nov. 5, which grew heated at times as officials were grilled about the deficit, the plans to cut staff, and a perceived lack of transparency.

The district has a budget deficit of about $1.39 million. At an earlier School Committee meeting, Szymaniak said that administrators were told about the deficit in mid-October. It was apparently identified by a third-party consultant afte

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