For nearly two weeks, Merrimack Valley High School teachers said they’ve been left to wonder whether they’ll have jobs next year.

“We’ve seen the headlines, we’ve heard the news, and we know that the situation is dire,” high school history teacher Rob Montgomery said at a hastily-organized demonstration Wednesday morning.

The rally served as educators’ first public response since voters narrowly approved a $1.9 million reduction to the school district’s proposed budget for next year. 

District administrators have indicated the reduction in funding will force them to eliminate between 15 and 20 positions. More clarity on which positions are in jeopardy could come as early as this week, when the school board convenes on March 19 for an emergency work session.

As busses carrying their students pulled into the high school on a frosty morning, about 30 educators gathered in a circle, clutching coffees and snacking on munchkins, to express both their fear and resolve.

“I think everyone’s been really on edge,” first-year English teacher Kayla Orthman said. “It’s just been this endless waiting game of worrying about what’s going to be next.”

The demonstration was part of a national “walk-in” organized by the National Education Association teachers’ union held at schools across the country in response to the Trump administration’s decision to lay off about half of the employees in the Department of Education. Teachers in Somersworth also held a demonstration.

Many in Merrimack Valley said they can’t ignore the parallels between their district’s situation and the ongoing federal effort to eliminate the Department of Education.

“It’s like a microcosm of what is happening at the national level,” said veteran English teacher Mandy Tirrell. “But for some reason, the community didn’t connect the dots.”

The state of New Hampshire received $336 million in education funding from the federal government last school year, which amounts to roughly 8% of all spending on public education statewide. That funding provides support for students who have disabilities or are low-income, among other things.

In pushing for the reduction in Merrimack Valley, Terese Bastarache, the leader of an organized campaign based out of Loudon, invoked President Donald Trump as a rallying cry. 

“Think about how he took a bullet to the ear and he said, ‘Fight, fight, fight.’ He needs us to show up because it is the school districts where the majority of our tax dollars are going,” Bastarache told fellow supporters prior to vote earlier this month.

Bastarache and others have rejected the notion that the district needs to lay off anyone. They point out that next year’s approved budget is 3% larger than this year’s and argue that the district can simply become more efficient in its spending.

Montgomery, the vice president of the school’s teacher union, said educators will stand up to the cuts – both at the local and federal levels.

“We’re not backing down,” Montgomery said in a short speech. “Just like we’re taking the fight back for the $1.9 million in our district, we’ll fight back against these destructive national policies because our students are counting on us.”

“We are not going to let anyone dismantle our public schools – not at the local level, not at the state, and not at the federal level,” Montgomery added.

In a short interview following his speech, Montgomery acknowledged that educators had little power to lessen the impact of the $1.9 million reduction facing the district now.

“I don’t know that there’s much that we can do other than just show our presence,” he said. “I want them to see what we do. I’m hoping that for next year we can try to change some hearts and minds.”

Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com.