School officials: Not all laid-off Ann Arbor teachers will be called back
Ann Arbor Public Schools likely will not be able to recall all 233 laid-off teachers, district officials said Wednesday.
Ann Arbor schools Interim Superintendent David Comsa
However, for the remaining 40 teachers who are watching and waiting as the weeks dwindle down to less than three before school starts, that invitation may never come, and these teachers most likely will be out of work.
Interim Superintendent David Comsa and Director of Human Resources Cynthia Ryan told AnnArbor.com at Wednesday's regular Board of Education meeting that the district may be able to recall a few more teachers by Friday. But that probably will be it before school starts, if at all this year, Ryan said.
"Honestly, I don't think that 40 will be able to be called back, unless there are some more retirements," she said.
This is the first time in recent history the Ann Arbor Public Schools has had to follow through with laying off classroom teachers. The district also issued layoff notices in 2010 but was able to recall all of the pink slipped staff that year.
Ann Arbor Education Association President Linda Carter could not be reached Wednesday night to comment for this story. She said in an interview last week that she did not see a reason for this year to be a historic year for AAPS as far as layoffs are concerned.
She noted that AAPS received 41 teacher retirements and resignations this summer, which is one more than the number of teacher reductions the school board approved in June. So in last week's interview with reporters she was cautiously hopeful that all of AAPS' teachers being able to keep their jobs.
In passing their 2013-14 fiscal year budget, trustees approved reducing the district's teaching staff by about 40 FTE (full-time equivalents). The breakdown was expected to be:
- 27 undesignated teaching positions, a savings of $2.7 million.
- 3 reading intervention specialists, $300,000.
- 3 teachers at Skyline High School (allowing Skyline to remain on trimesters), $300,000.
- 3 fine arts/physical education teaching positions through attrition, $200,000.
- 3 P.E. teachers from cutting the extra P.E. credit requirement at the high schools, $400,000.
The news that teachers will be out of work is a big blow to a district that has prided itself on being able to achieve staffing reductions through attrition; and in Comsa's opinion, the blame lies with the state.
When asked about what these first official layoffs mean to the Ann Arbor Public Schools, Comsa said: "My only comment is the legislature needs to fund schools so we don't have to lay off teachers."
Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.
Comments
anderti
Fri, Aug 16, 2013 : 1:08 p.m.
Why are people suggesting charter schools? Charter schools pay less and are able to just cut the pay in half in the middle of the year.
buffalobob
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 10:46 p.m.
People: get used to the fact that families and jobs are moving out of Michigan. Teachers getting pink slipped is not the end of the world; they just need to realize that they must move to North Carolina or South Dakota. Everyone wants to work in Ann Arbor but they can't.
Orangecrush2000
Fri, Aug 16, 2013 : 1:47 a.m.
I think that the layoffs are for the protection of administrators. I think that the administrators are the ones playing the shell game on the teachers, students and taxpayers. I say that about half of them need to go, or their salaries need to come down. More teachers per admin will mean better schools.
Topher
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 11:22 p.m.
The layoffs are not due to declining enrollment.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 5:58 p.m.
I received this return email from AAEA President Linda Carter this morning after the story published. I thought I would add it here in the comments. Linda wrote: "Our laid off AAEA members have had a very stressful summer. Not knowing your employment status for the upcoming school year is unfortunate & painful. We have heard a lot of bad financial stories from our laid off colleagues this summer. The majority of our members are going back to their same schools & same grade/subjects. However, the AAEA leadership is extremely worried if our colleagues are NOT called back. We are in the process of gearing up for next steps on how to support our laid of colleagues."
Basic Bob
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 11:18 p.m.
Gearing up for next steps? (a) Protest, (b) lawsuit, (c) letters of recommendation, or (d) charity? I'm betting on (b)
Lola
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 4:17 p.m.
I once had a 2nd grade teacher freely admit to me that she was nothing but a baby sitter. Because she had tenure she didn't have to teach her students anything and didn't care. We need to do away with tenure so we can get rid of teachers like that. The number one criteria for me when evaluating a teacher is whether or not that teacher seems to care if my child learns. Too many teachers don't seem to care and it feels like they only went into teaching because they like the schedule. Those are the teachers who need to go. There are a lot of experienced (older) teachers that are very good as well as younger ones. To base lay-offs on seniority does a disservice to our children. Any principal worth his or her salt should be involved enough to know which teachers are good and which are not. If they don't then they aren't qualified to be a principal. There are many ways to evaluate that; parent and student feed-back, test scores, anonymous evaluations, classroom observation, to name a few. These are the only ways to retain quality education, not tenure or seniority.
aamom
Sun, Aug 18, 2013 : 2:40 a.m.
I agree with Lola that it should be the prinicpal's job as the teacher's boss to decide if he/she has earned a raise or should remained employed. As Lola said, there are many things to take into account. One of those could be how caring parents and children perceive the teacher to be. But that would just be one criteria. I'm guessing if one looked at the whole package of information about a teacher (observation, peer evaluations, parent evaluations, test scores, # of times you've had different parents in your office with similar complaints, the principal would know pretty handily who was doing a good job.
Chris
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 8:20 p.m.
Lola, how do you measure or quantify "caring" by a teacher? It's a subjective and emotional item that cannot possibly be measured in a fair and accurate way. I've heard horror stories about some of our principals. I would NOT want some of them judging my job performance as it sounds like some of them should not be in the positions they're in.
Tom Joad
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 3:19 p.m.
But I thought the economy was on a rebound....what gives?
Basic Bob
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 11:16 p.m.
We spent our share plus the hold harmless money. Sounds like we harmed ourselves.
Chris
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 8:18 p.m.
An increase in tax receipts trails the recovery. If this recovery continues, I anticipate the state will continue to see higher tax revenues…and maybe, but I won't hold my breath, they will actually provide more monies to public schools.
Susie Q
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 4:02 p.m.
The economy is on a small rebound.....but our funding comes from the state. Ann Arbor may be doing well.....but we send more tax dollars to the state than we get back for education. This is the result of Proposal A (1994). High-spending districts like AAPS were supposed to be "held harmless" from that legislation and for years we received a categorical amount from the state called the 20J money. Mr Snyder permanently eliminated that during his first year in office.
J. A. Pieper
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 3:14 p.m.
Daniell, can we get a break down as to what levels these teachers are from - how many elementary, middle school, high school, and whether they are all classroom teachers, or are they support staff (special education, art, music, gym, etc.)?
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 6 p.m.
J. A. Pieper, I have been told by both district officials and union leaders that the grade levels really vary across the board because the layoffs are done by seniority first. We are working on obtaining a list of the laid-off teachers, however, and hope to have more information for readers asap.
Orangecrush2000
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 2:53 p.m.
If we got rid of administrators, or paid them less; and hired the teachers back; it would improve education and make better use of our hard earned tax dollars. But, it appears that the school district exists to serve the administrators,first; teachers second; and sadly, students, third. It appears that the taxpayers, themselves, are a distant fourth.
elise
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:45 p.m.
Pizz: I wasn't talking about teachers not doing their job, we are on the same page there. I just think people need to be cautious about saying that just because a teacher is senior, they should go first for the newbies. There are good and bad employees in every profession, age doesn't really determine this.
Topher
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 2:50 p.m.
@elise. Thank you for your wishes of good luck. I will need them, since my performance and quality as a teacher have nothing to do with my retention. All I've got is random luck. ;)
A Voice of Reason
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 2:37 p.m.
Elise, We are talking about average teachers vs. exceptional ones here. We do not want to loose the exceptional teachers regardless of tenure. Also, there is a fair amount of research that illustrates that teacher effectiveness does not change over time (except in the first 2 years). http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001455-impact-teacher-experience.pdf We need to keep good teachers regardless of tenure. Why don't the teachers who do not want to be evaluated based on outcomes go somewhere else?
elise
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:59 p.m.
topher- If principals are doing their job, in theory, older teachers should be good ones and they should be keeping their jobs. At my child's school I watched one very good principal get rid of the bad apples at the rate of one a year, so it is possible contrary to popular belief (the union didn't stop this process). Like I said before, I wish you the best of luck in your teaching endeavors. :)
Topher
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:49 p.m.
elise - I agree with you. One myth about unions is that they protect "bad apple". While there are some poor teachers, the majority in AAPS are hardworking and skilled. Since age does not determine teacher quality, the next question is: why do we then use this in determining teacher retention?
JRW
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:40 p.m.
What a terrible way to run a school district. No surprise here, however, given the bunch of amateurs calling the shots.
PenguinPride
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:15 p.m.
There a a lot of exceptional "senior" teachers in this district and not all new, young, fresh teachers are exceptional and must be saved. If you ask me, reduction in staff should go on evaluations and effectiveness. Look at the data. In the business world you do not retain your job because you have been there the longest, you retain your job because you are doing it well and your boss sees the effects of your work.
barb
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 8:07 p.m.
As a parent I have seen exactly what JA Pieper is speaking of. Every year, schools get calls/letters/emails from parents requesting their child NOT have a particular teacher. Every school has one of "those" teachers (actually lucky if there is just one). I support teachers 110%, and I put my money where my mouth is so to speak. It is absolutely disgraceful that these few teachers are retained year in and year out. While obviously I would like to see them fired, if that can't happen, I'd rather have them counting paperclips at Balas than being around children/kids!
towncryer
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 8:01 p.m.
JA Pieper, your school sounds like my former school to a T....which is why I say former. I 100% concur that administrative favoritism is out of control at certain schools. And loading some classrooms with "challenging" students is not fair to anyone. Looks were also important at my former school, which is also despicable.
Commoncents
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 4:45 p.m.
Responsible Citizen: Teachers have loads of degrees from universities and they pride themselves on being very smart people. If teachers can't come up with a method to judge themselves on some sort of performance base pay scale then we will do it for them. If you know good teachers they will tell you - they HATE the lazy ones that give them a bad name. And by the way - EVERYTHING is subjective!! The key point to a performance evaluation is to use MANY different criteria as an AID to judge overall performance. Stop making excuses. There are straight up lazy idiots making over $80k/year in the AAPS doing the bare minimum and making MORE than hard working, great teachers. All of the parents and students know who these teachers are. It's time to stop pretending.
J. A. Pieper
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 3:34 p.m.
And, there are some teachers who are favored by principals and never have difficult students assigned to their classroom. So these teachers have the perfect classrooms year after year, while others at the same grade level have a more challenging group. The data to prove they are teaching effectively does not take into consideration the number of special education children included in a teacher's classroom, nor does it in any way indicate the number of behavior problems that the teacher has to deal with, which takes instructional time from all students. Although some teachers have a gift handling some discipline issues, their classroom should not be loaded with children who exhibit these behaviors. AAPS considers all their teachers "highly qualified" and to me, this means that every teacher shares students who might have needs, and it is wrong to do otherwise. This is another reason why evaluations can be questionable on the part of some administrators, they are way too subjective. My principal would have fired me a few times over because I would question policies, etc., that he was initiating, and this person was one of the questionable building leaders who was left at a non-squeaky-wheel school for way too long! I know a current, new, young teacher who is favored by the principal, and if the community knew how little this teacher actually does related to the job, they would be shocked. But, this teacher volunteers do to a lot in the building, and is favored by the principal!
Responsible Citizen
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:46 p.m.
JRW......Exactly how would you evaluate that performance? Evaluation by one's superior? Again, very subjective. What would you base it on? What one person sees as important is not what another sees. Also, group dynamics are a factor. I have two children who are teachers, and both my parents were teachers (not in A2). You can have an entire class of well-behaved, high-performing students or just the opposite, and the teacher can only do so much.
Responsible Citizen
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:40 p.m.
Etc.) Education cannot be evaluated the same way a business can be. Children are not products. I would favor closing schools. The last time it was done was in 1986. With Scarlett at approximately 50% full and two other middle schools approximately 75% full, to me this is the easiest, least painful way of saving money. Its just not efficient to run a school at 50% capacity.
JRW
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:38 p.m.
That's exactly why layoff decisions need to be made based on PERFORMANCE.
Responsible Citizen
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:35 p.m.
You obviously have no experience in educational evaluations. It is very subjective, and you cannot go solely on test scores (too many other factors involved......family and social situations, income, housin
Brad
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:13 p.m.
That photo of Comsa doing the "executive hand gesture" always reminds me of this ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNCrMEOqHpc
Billy
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:12 p.m.
I'm just going to say this now and get it out there. I think they're going to close Skyline because it's a HUGE money sink and we don't have anywhere NEAR the right student numbers to make it work right now.... The massive layoffs were a good sign that the district was in serious financial shape...
Basic Bob
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 11:14 p.m.
They can't close Skyline but if they can free up 400 spots I can think of an appropriate consolidation.
DonBee
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 12:35 p.m.
Math time 27+3+3+3+3+3 = 39, I will buy 40 for rounding. Authorized. 233-190 = 43 still on layoff 41 retirements = 41 retired 43 + 41 = 84 fewer teachers on the payroll (retirements + laid off) 84 - 40 = 44 open positions (reduced payroll - authorized) Sounds to me like all 43 could be recalled right now. But lets look at it this way 44*30 = 1320 students who will be facing substitutes on day 1 of class. Where it the priority here? Students or Administration? ----------- As to the comments about what was heard in the open meeting, and what was said to Danielle directly, I am not surprised there is a difference. I do wish the board had met in a location where the meeting could be recorded, but they seem to have decided to hide as much as they can from the public record at this point. So expect more "He said, She said" going forward, the confusion is as much the board's fault for not using CCTV for their meetings as it is anyone else.
J. A. Pieper
Fri, Aug 16, 2013 : 3:32 a.m.
The 41 retirements include other positions in AAPS - they are not all teachers. What we really need is a break down of exactly what areas the retirements were in - teachers, school nurse, secretaries, Balas personnel. Knowing explicitly what the retirement numbers represent would add a lot of clarity to the discussion.
Commoncents
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 4:40 p.m.
Why hasn't AnnArbor.com done a story on this ? Why is it allowed to have the administration say one thing to the board and another to a reporter minutes after the first statement was made ? Why are these officials not held accountable ? Why is this not on the front page of AnnArbor.com ? Also - If there are 41 OLD retired teachers leaving - aren't their salaries quite a bit more than (sometimes triple) that of a new grad hire ?? Am I missing something ?
Susie Q
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 3:58 p.m.
DonBee, Surely you know that the 41 retirements will not exactly match the credentials and Highly Qualified status of those who remain on layoff. This is certainly one of the most frustrating pieces here. If only it were that simple. I agree with many of your comments about AAPS having too many folks at Balas. But even if they cut half of the positions there, I do not believe it would make up for the chasm of funding shortfalls that we see annually. AAPS needs to close some elementary bldgs, probably a middle school, and put all high schools on the same program; whether it is trimesters, semesters, block-scheduling or whatever. We no longer have the funding luxury to be all things to all people. W cannot afford to offer a "free" seventh hour.....if it is illegal to charge tuition for it; eliminate it.
J. A. Pieper
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 3:19 p.m.
AAPS - hide information? Really?
elise
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:20 p.m.
There won't be substitutes, just giant initial classes that will have to reconfigured once more staff is brought back. Stinks for staff and students involved!
West Side Mom
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:05 p.m.
Exactly. What other budgeting error was found this summer that requires this additional cuts?
SuperiorMother
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 12:30 p.m.
Seems like it's getting awfully late to not have this finalized yet. Middle school registration, when the kids receive their class schedules, is next week. I can only imagine how challenging it is to finalize class schedules without knowing for sure how many teachers each school will have for what grades/classes, etc. What a mess. (That said, I'm still crossing my fingers that my son's Scarlett math teacher is recalled. Unfortunately, he was hired the day before school started last year, so it seems unlikely, despite the fact that he is an excellent teacher that the kids like and respect. My son will be heartbroken.)
Chris
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 8:14 p.m.
I've seen "excellent and respected" employees lose jobs in other industries. It's not just public schools that "protect" inadequate employees. I'll wager many of us have had co-workers or managers that left us wondering "how do they keep their jobs?"
Billy
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:14 p.m.
"despite the fact that he is an excellent teacher that the kids like and respect." In any employment system with a union.....you NEVER get the best...you only get the oldest... Seniority > Ability when you have a union...
Topher
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 12:12 p.m.
This is completely confusing to me as one of the laid off teachers. How does 41 retirements not cover the 39 cut positions? Doesn't this actually mean that 80 positions were cut from AAPS unless HR posts and hires positions that they are in need of (they have already posted a .4 art position and a music position)?
Commoncents
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 4:35 p.m.
Is this true ?? Why hasn't ann arbor.com done a story on this ? How ridiculous. Sorry to hear about your situation Topher - I know a few teachers HOPING to be interviewed for spots once everyone's jobs are granted back. Only a government run entity would wait until the week before school starts to figure out who has a job and if they need to interview new teachers. What a JOKE!!!
A Voice of Reason
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 2:26 p.m.
Great question! More importantly, why can't the district get their numbers correct. School starts in 2 weeks. Seems like we would want our teachers to prepare for the school year.
Pizzicato
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 11:55 a.m.
I suspect that seniority was by far the overriding factor in the decisions regarding which teachers to call back. This would be, unfortunately, another example of our society's increasing tendency to cannibalize the futures of the young in favor of the comfort and security of the old.
snoopdog
Sat, Aug 17, 2013 : 12:03 a.m.
Society isn't doing it in this case, it is the teachers union and the teachers that support these policies and contracts. Sad, very sad. Good Day
Basic Bob
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 11:12 p.m.
Not all are experienced professionals, some are just union members with seniority.
Chris
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 8:12 p.m.
I would argue that nobody has figured out how an adequate system to fairly and objectively evaluate teachers. One parents' issue with a teacher may be a reason why another family loves the teacher.
Topher
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:45 p.m.
@elise - It isn't that I don't believe in seniority. I believe in seniority based on experience and results. As you point out, many experienced teachersare great, but not all of them. I don't believe in protecting teachers who are not producing results with their students , and my guess is that you do not as well. There are challenges with changing the current seniority system (how do you fairly and accurately assess teacher performance?) and I don't think AAPS has this figured out. It's a hard thing to do.
Pizzicato
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:18 p.m.
@elise: I believe that expertise, rather than experience, matters most. An individual who has done the same average job for years is not necessarily better than a more capable individual with less "time in the seat," so to speak.
elise
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 12:30 p.m.
Topher- I am sorry to hear you have not been called back yet, this must be very frustrating for you. However, if you are so unhappy with your current contract and the way it works, why don't you seek employment somewhere else? Take you skill set to a place, perhaps a charter school, where seniority doesn't play a role and you can be retained or let go based on your teaching ability? Why sit around and wait for a district that doesn't share your value system? Good luck!
Topher
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 12:19 p.m.
Seniority was definitely the predominant factor - not observations or feedback from parents, students, or administration. Teachers who are mediocre but have been around for a long time got to keep their jobs (the argument that all AAPS teachers are exceptional is highly flawed) while new teachers to the district have been thrown under the bus. HR can chalk it up to state funding (which is a real problem) but it also comes down to the poor contract that was created between Balas and the teacher's union. Seniority must be reconsidered because it benefits student learning.
elise
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 12:12 p.m.
Why do you assume that an experienced professional would be worse for kids than someone right out of college? Do you feel the same way about your doctors and lawyers? I find it interesting that people assume new always equals better in the field of teaching...a good teacher is a good teacher no matter what the age in my opinion.
plymouthian
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 11:27 a.m.
My apologies, Danielle, but were we at separate board meetings? During the superintendent's report, I heard that the district was "hopeful" that all remaining teachers laid off would be called back. Can you clarify when in the meeting this position was changed?
Orangecrush2000
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 2:36 p.m.
So, would this mean that Comsa is talking out of "two sides of his mouth?"
plymouthian
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 12:38 p.m.
Thank you for the clarification.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 11:53 a.m.
But just an additional note, you are correct that Mr. Comsa said the district was "hopeful" during his report to the board in the meeting. However, that was not the same information I was given when I spoke with them one on two.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 11:52 a.m.
plymouthian, sorry, the story may not be clear enough. I say the information was told to AnnArbor.com, but I should have been more specific. I asked David Comsa and Cynthia Ryan a handful of questions about the layoffs, looking for more specifics about timing and likelihood, during a 20-minute recess that the board took in the middle of the meeting. The recess was for a short break and to give trustees another opportunity to review the proposed superintendent contract that was slated for next on the board's agenda. I hope this helps clarify.
Goober
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 11:20 a.m.
This is no way to run an excellent school system.
garrisondyer
Sat, Aug 17, 2013 : 4:07 a.m.
@jns131, All the institutions you mentioned in your argument are similar only in that they are public education institutions. What makes them vastly different is the fact that during the K-12 system, teachers are expected to teach their students HOW to learn plus then deliver the content of their lessons, then to cap it all off, their school (and possibly they themselves? clarification please...) are 'graded' by their students' performance on a standardized test. UM and EMU is filled up with students who opted to attend an institution with humongous class sizes. They themselves are graded on their own work. I find a large difference in this personally.
jns131
Fri, Aug 16, 2013 : 5:11 p.m.
Not necessarily. If the UM and EMU can do it with large class sizes why can't the AAPS system do it as well? Just a thought.
aaparent
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 10:46 a.m.
Is there a breakdown by building of where these 40 teachers were employed last year and their roles? This is unfortunate last-minute news for 40 people who were strung along and reassured it seems to me that this was not a likely possibility. Comsa's quotes make it sounds like it was known all along, but he and others didn't say so out loud and despite the truth in his comments about state funding cuts, that does not cover the way in which the Balas administrators have treated these teachers. Where is his apology on behalf of the district for the role the district played along side the regret and outrage at cuts in state funding for public schools.
Susie Q
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 3:51 p.m.
@Voice of Reason. AAPS used to receive about $9700 per student (around 2007) and now receives about $9000. There has not been a 2.5% increase. In the 6-7 years since the "high point", many costs have gone up (not salaries unless it is at Balas).......energy, gasoline, health insurance, pension contributions, etc. Most employees are earning less now than they did 7 years ago. Most employees are at the "top step" and do not receive annual "raises". Most employees are paying a lot more for their retiree health insurance, pension contributions and their current health insurance premiums, co-pays, deductibles and so on. Dave Comsa is correct in blaming the state funding for education. These deep cuts to the educational programs will continue until Lansing chooses to put more resources into education. As for the comment that charter schools will "snap them up" (laid off AAPS teachers); I am sure most of these folks will prefer NOT to go back to a charter. That is where many of them came from and they do not remember those days fondly. They worked at a charter because they had no choice.
A Voice of Reason
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 2:24 p.m.
Please show me where state funding has been cut. State funding overall has been cut because there has been a 2.5% decrease in students in public schools.
dia
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 11:38 a.m.
This news is not only unfortunate for 40 teachers but also for students and parents that will no longer have some high performing teachers. Charter schools will likely snap them up along with added student enrollment. Is it factual that some recalled teachers will not go back to their former teaching assignments. If that is factual, what is the basis of that policy? It is time to leave a policy of Seniority unless there are two equally qualified individuals!