The Minneapolis School District announced that it has pink slipped 294 probationary teachers, with more layoffs to be announced later, according to a story, Teacher bill revises 'last hired, first fired,' which appeared on page 1 of the Metro / State section of the Star-Tribune of Monday, May 23, 2005,
The district is not required by law to lay off probationary teachers by strict seniority, and doesn't need to lay off all of its probationary teachers (especially in high-need, high demand areas). Teachers are on probationary status during their first three years on the job. Once again the district is engaged in its annual ritual of laying off teachers it intends to rehire or replace before next fall. Last year the district pink-slipped 608 teachers, but planned to cut fewer than 200 full time positions. This drives up teacher turnover rates, especially in areas of high demand, because laid off teachers may accept job offers from other districts. See "Topic: Teachers" http://educationright.com/id471.htm The district essentially uses annual layoffs to hold down payroll costs, knowing that many laid-off teachers will seek jobs elsewhere or be discouraged from returning to teaching. This strategy may save money in the short-run, but its long-term costs are devastating: Programs that depend on stability of staff are undermined and the resultant price paid by the schools, teachers, students and families is ultimately too high. Under the heading "Black teachers lose in Minneapolis contraction" (on page one), there is a breakdown of school employees, presumably teachers, by race in school years 2000-2001 and 2004-2005. However, the district provided figures for most, if not all of the district's employees, not just teachers. The district did not employ 4,653 teachers in 2000-2001 and 3,741 in 2004-2005, as reported in the strib article. The district's 2004-2005 budget document (approved at the end of June 2004) shows the district allocated money for regular class room instruction needed to fill 1,663.2 teacher positions in 1001-02 and planned to fill 1,095.8 in 2004-05. The district also employs a few hundred teachers in special education programs. -Doug Mann, King Field candidate for 8th ward city council member http://educationright.com REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
