Defunding schools

[Queen2PrincessG]

SO many schools are firing teachers. How are your districts handling layoffs?

 

[Meglen]

No layoffs in my area. We need more teachers for all this distant learning.

 

[CarolAnn856]

SO many schools are firing teachers. How are your districts handling layoffs?

Do you have a reliable source that says that many teachers are being fired?

 

[spiders]

There will be a 14% cut across the state but I don’t think anyone will be laid off although I think a furlough day here and there is possible. The district is still trying to determine how much it will lose. The last I heard, one of the questions without an answer was the money being sent to other districts. Our district is required to give a certain amount of funding to other districts and the state hasn’t said if those payments will be reduced by 14% as well.

 

[JimMIA]

We haven't had any yet (4th largest school system in the US), but we'll see. Our schools are somewhat protected because much of their funding is separate from other governmental funding.

Our governor actually just signed a pay raise for starting teachers into law. But our state budget will take a big hit from covid-19, and our universities are going to get crushed -- so we have to see how it all shakes out.

 

[Kittyblue]

I haven’t heard of any layoffs here, but local districts started doing a hiring freeze at the end of the school year, not filling vacancies. I think they are waiting to see what the budget looks like and then go from there.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I’m not the OP but this is for NJ.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nj...chers-how-bad-will-it-get.html?outputType=amp

 

[tvguy]

Kind of an odd situation. There is a shortage of teachers here. In September they had 4% of all teacher positions still vacant when the school year started. Last month they announced they were laying off 11 teachers. However they announce a similar number of layoffs every year and then when the finally know how many teachers are quitting or retiring, they come up short. Nobody gets laid off. But union rules require them to announce all possible layoffs in May.
Kind of an odd dynamic here given:
1) Half the teachers will reach full retirement age and tenure in the next five years
2) Enrollment is declining because there are fewer children.
3( There is already a shortage of teachers, despite declining enrollment.

 

[monsterkitty]

I retired and they are not filling my position. That means there will be no instrumental music classes. I was the biggest feeder to the high school in our district, I usually have 225-250 kids each year. Both the band and orchestra teacher at the high school have said they will leave if they do not fill my position next year.

Now my old principal is asking for 2 new teachers to replace the one of me. 45-60 kids in my class = 2 teachers for any other class.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Is defunding the new catchphrase? I could use that for so many things now from the county, to the city, to the state, to the universities, to the schools. This seems like just 'ole fashioned layoffs, pay cuts and the like.

To answer the question my alma mater has looked at buying out people so they retire early and there is a pay cut (percentage based on annual salary) rather than straight up laying off they are however not raising tuition which is a big surprise (other schools are however). I think the public k-12 schools in the immediate area haven't mentioned yet but they are of course facing the same money issues as all. I think they haven't quite got it completely 100% figured out for the fall yet so that's probably impacting things. I know they have plans for in-person classes from what I remember reading.

 

[JimMIA]

Is defunding the new catchphrase?

Yes. And it's "UNPRECEDENTED!"

 

[Jen414]

More than 2,000 teachers laid off in Massachusetts
This article even lists how many in each district. In our district, it was supposed to be 2 classroom teachers, but our union voted to take a furlough day and give back part of our raise. But it was only 2, so it was doable. A few districts here are well over 100. A furlough day would not be enough to save those jobs. There will be irreparable harm done with these huge layoffs and it will take decades to recover from. I feel not only for the teachers, but also for the students in these districts.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Yes. And it's "UNPRECEDENTED!"

Huh....I think Jimmy carter started the defunding process....which is how Reagan was elected...he was the king of defunding.....ketchup vs veggies in school lunches.

 

[monsterkitty]

Huh....I think Jimmy carter started the defunding process....which is how Reagan was elected...he was the king of defunding.....ketchup vs veggies in school lunches.

Carter did not defund education. He was instrumental in creating the DOE and funding the department. Reagan began cutting funding almost immediately once he was in office.

 

[JimMIA]

Carter did not defund education. He was instrumental in creating the DOE and funding the department. Reagan began cutting funding almost immediately once he was in office.

That was 40 years ago!

 

[Colleen27]

Our district is doing everything possible to avoid staff cuts on the assumption that class sizes will have to get much smaller for fall, so the only cuts so far are 3 retirees not being replaced. But we're losing 115 students and the regional education authority is telling districts to prepare for a $650 per pupil funding cut (which is probably overly optimistic - state legislators have talked about as much as a $2000 pp cut - but since the state punted on their budget process and won't take up the question until Sept., school districts have to pass their budgets on pure guesswork). Between the two, that's about a $3.5M hole the board will have to figure out how to fill... and as of now, all they've got is $750K in unspecific cuts to be determined later and drawing down the rainy day fund to cover the rest.

There's an alarming amount of magical thinking on all levels right now as everyone continues operating on the assumption that the feds will come through with a bailout, even though there's been absolutely no signals of such from any of the players that would have to be involved in making it happen. Not sure what is going to happen when (if) that bailout doesn't come through, the per pupil cut is larger than anticipated, and schools have to figure out where to cut millions mid-year.

 

[JimMIA]

There's an alarming amount of magical thinking on all levels right now as everyone continues operating on the assumption that the feds will come through with a bailout, even though there's been absolutely no signals of such from any of the players that would have to be involved in making it happen. Not sure what is going to happen when (if) that bailout doesn't come through, the per pupil cut is larger than anticipated, and schools have to figure out where to cut millions mid-year.

That's the nature of politics these days. Politicians of both parties, and at all levels, have learned that they just need to have some answer to questions like this and the problem will go away.

Opposing news media will roast them no matter what they say, and supporting media will applaud -- so that's a wash. And by tomorrow morning the general public will have forgotten both the question and the answer.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I have never heard of layoffs at schools in our province. HUGE, strong union. Of course multiple other cuts. They just cut some management positions at the school board level and the schools are always told to tighten their belts. Maybe some EAs or admins lost?
Has the enrollment gone down drastically in your area that they are laying off teachers?

And are they being fired or laid off? There is a difference.
Fired = incompetent, poor job performance, etc
Laid off = lack of work or lack of money to pay them

 

[mefordis]

I’m not the OP but this is for NJ.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nj...chers-how-bad-will-it-get.html?outputType=amp

I know a lot of people here in NJ who are switching to homeschooling.

 

[bookwormde]

no teacher cuts in my state. we have a unit count system in code.