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Today's Seattle Times article, "Seattle school layoffs denounced at rally," by Linda Shaw, describes how various school districts are responding to budget challenges. Seattle is laying off 33 first and second-year young teachers.
(These teachers are being laid off, even though they may be the very best teachers in their schools. Clearly, the Seattle district leadership, which is currently engaged in negotiations with the union, must insist that the new collective bargaining agreement allow the district to consider teacher performance in making lay off decisions.)
What is also interesting about the Seattle Times article is how other school districts are reducing costs by eliminating positions, through natural attrition and by cutting non-teaching staff. Bellevue, North Shore, Lake Washington, Issaquah have all avoided laying off teachers who wish to show up to teach next year, by cutting teaching positions through natural attrition, or by cutting non-teaching staff. Only Seattle, Edmonds and Everett school districts are laying off teachers who are eager to teach kids.
Here are the numbers for school personnel hired statewide in School Year 2007-2008:
Administrators: 4038.Classroom Elementary Teachers: 26,494; Classroom Secondary Teachers: 22,237; Other teachers: 5183. Other certificated staff, extracurricular: 267; Education Staff Associates (other support, library media specialists, counselors, occupational therapists, social workers, communications, psychologists, nurses, physical therapists, reading resource): 7347; Classified Personnel (aides, crafts/trades, laborers, office/clerical, operators, professional, service workers, technical, director/supervisor): 38,604. Total: 104,174.
These numbers and the Seattle Times article reveal that school districts are well able to avoid cutting classroom teachers who want to return in the fall to teach kids.
