Dear Colleagues,
Last night the Board of Education charged the superintendent and treasurer with the task of saving the district between $3.5 and $4.5 million dollars One reason among others was that there are unpredictable revenues from the state. The Superintendent emailed all staff this morning that there will be lay-offs. Everyone will find out who will be affected before it becomes official at the April 23 Board meeting.
Every few years we seem to go through this experience. A few years ago the Board pink slipped 60 of our members only to hire back almost the same number, some within weeks of the lay-off. The Board chastised administration about this, but seems to be willing to accept the same game. What ends up happening under these circumstances is that our newest teachers start looking for other jobs once these announcements are made. No one blames them for trying to protect their incomes. The result is that our District ends up as the big loser – all the District investments made in training teachers to be able to work here goes to benefit some other place. In some tragic cases people decide to leave the profession.
In its last 5-year budget forecast the District started the fiscal year with $29 million in the bank out of a $100 million budget. But 5-year forecasts are a little like weather forecasts in this way: you never quite know what is happening until afterwards. I understand their need to be conservative with the 5-year forecast, but I also know what has happened when the District pretends to save money by laying people off and then rehiring after some people commit to other places.
If the District kept staffing levels the same (which does not make sense if we have declining enrollment), then with no raises the District would be in the hole by 2017. Staffing levels were probably going to go down next year due to the closing of Bellefaire. State aid under the Kasich budget had a guarantee for two years but right now that is up in the air with the fight between conservatives down in Columbus. It is impossible to predict what state aid will be or what other losses the District will have based on foolish proposals around vouchers, charters, Peterson Scholarships, and the like.
So, you are probably wondering what sage advice I can possibly give (or maybe you stopped reading a long time ago). If you have been hired within the last 5 years or so and don’t have tenure you should be checking what your options are. Even though we have recall rights for all teachers (tenured first) it is impossible to predict what is going to happen. We actually host a page on our website (under membership/job search) that has links to Cuyahoga County district human resource departments to make a search easier. If you teach in a specialty area you might be OK or you might have your program cut. Hard to say. If you are going to retire or resign this year and have not notified the Board you should call our office immediately to arrange a meeting and have us prepare a letter indicating your retirement or resignation intention – this will save someone the hardship of having to go through a lay off. Simply put, it is incredibly painful to be in the public education business right now.
Please know that we will do everything we can to assist our affected members through these difficult times. Moreover, we will strive to negotiate a contract that does not devalue teachers and support staff, and that is fair, and that is respectful of the hard work and professionalism you bring to our District every day.
Fraternally,
Ari Klein