Lakewood, NJ – A 23-year Lakewood Township School District paraprofessional says a June 2026 layoff could wipe out roughly 190 accumulated sick days and disrupt her path toward retiree health benefits just before she reaches eligibility, according to her family.
Donna Sumeriski, a Toms River resident who works at Clifton Avenue School, earns about $20,000 a year and has been told her job will end as Lakewood eliminates paraprofessional positions districtwide, her son, Joseph Driscoll, said.
What the Family Wants Answered
Driscoll said the family has asked the Lakewood Township School District and union for written answers before the Lakewood Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, May 27.
The questions focus on whether Sumeriski can move into a full-time, benefits-eligible public position for about two more years, whether her sick time survives the layoff, and whether retiree health eligibility depends on total New Jersey public service or retiring directly from Lakewood.
Key Points
• Donna Sumeriski has worked for Lakewood schools for more than 23 years.
• Her family says she has about 190 sick days and may be close to a retiree health-benefit threshold.
• The Lakewood Board of Education meets Wednesday, May 27, before the expected June 2026 layoff.
A Larger Question for Low-Wage School Workers
The family says the issue goes beyond one employee. Lakewood has faced heavy scrutiny over school funding and oversight, and the layoff raises a broader public question: what happens when longtime, low-wage school workers lose their jobs shortly before retirement-related benefits become reachable?
“This is not just one employee asking for special treatment,” Driscoll wrote in the tip. He said the family wants to know whether Lakewood, the union, the state, or another public employer can preserve a qualifying bridge position or confirm other protections.
Sumeriski is vested in the New Jersey pension system, according to her family.
The current status is unresolved: Sumeriski remains employed at Clifton Avenue School, but her family says she faces a June 2026 layoff unless the district, union, state, or another public employer identifies a way to protect her sick leave and retirement-benefit path.
