Wednesday, May 13, 2009

413 MORE


In addition to the positions that were cut back in March, 413 teachers were cut during the board meeting last night. Thoughts? Comments?

17 comments:

daniel said...

Makes me sad to know that there are so many teachers that were cut last night that want nothing more than to be in a classroom doing what they do best-- educating their students and building relationships.

People talk about the high turnover rate of teachers (50% of new teachers are out of the profession within the first 5 years) and I never thought that I would be one of those teachers-- I always thought the people that left the profession were people who just couldn't stand working with kids.

I love my job. I love my school site and the faculty here.

Now I have to go out to find a new job in districts that are having the same difficulties as MDUSD. Good job putting new/probationary teachers on the chopping block.

Thanks a lot, state budget, local/national economy and MDUSD for making my life so much easier to handle.

Becka Machado said...

What a disturbing number!! What isn't always understood is that "413" is the number of FTE (Full Time Equivalent) positions being cut. The list of people slated to get layed-off includes a number of teachers who are not contracted full time. So the actual number of pink slips will be higher.
I am mad. Mad at a system that allows this. On Friday we will have to put names to these cuts and those names are friends and amazing teachers who really do make a difference in the lives of children.

Anonymous said...

I thought last night was to "finalize" the preliminary notices that went out in march? Are you saying that in addition to the 400+ in March, there are now over 800 teachers who will be gone for next year?

Danielle Adler said...

I am one of the teachers at El Dorado that was pink slipped. I am extremely mad at this situtaion, but more than that, I am devastated. I have taught at El Dorado for 3 years. I work with an amazing group of teachers that LOVE what they do and will do whatever it takes for this not to happen. I am not forced to look for another position in other districts that are laying off as well. The situation is bad for a lot of us. Things need to change or the school system will fail quickly and miserably. I do hope that changes are made.

Tom said...

Tom said...

Daniel's poignant words echo the plight of teachers throughout the state. They speak to the anger and frustration of those committed to educating our children. His words cut to the heart of the matter: teachers have become the pawns of the state's financial mess. The latest bombshell: 413 more cuts. Where does this madness end? How did impersonal forces come to rule the lives of teachers. How did this profession become expendable, just another casualty of our disposable society?

Unknown said...

These cuts affect us on a "real" level and I don't think that many people in our community realize just how bad it has gotten. People have gotten immune to the plight after hearing this year after year. I constantly hear from people in the community - "Yeah, but you'll all get hired back, Right?" It is worse this year! I have been at El Dorado 9 years and this is my second home and the staff here is my second family. The thought of leaving El Dorado is killing me. I would give anything to be here next year. It scares me to think what will happen to our students next year. How can taking away 413 more positions possibly be acceptable?
This situation is not acceptable for us as staff members, or for the students!

Anonymous said...

As a parent of a student at El Dorado - I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you guys are doing to make a change for our children. My daughter is excited to be writing letters to the senator, holding signs on friday mornings and to be helping fight for each of you. Thank you!

Becka said...

Just to clarify... The 413 is from the original list, not in addition to it.

Roy Cuizon said...

So… 413 FTE’s CUT.

Why is this OK practice?

If we accept this as “business as usual”, then we help perpetuate this unnecessary cycle that our state and schools go through year after year. Could this be one of the many reasons why we rank, where we rank, in education as a state? We can’t send the message to Sac that this is OK. It is not!

One can argue that most of those teachers will get there jobs back because schools are going to need teachers next year. That is not the point. If we take that position, we are part of that vicious cycle.

These teachers are receiving official LAYOFF NOTICES this week. They officially do not have jobs as of June 10th.

Not many people would return to a job that doesn’t have funds to pay them. And if limited funds become available, what other program cuts will be necessary in order to pay the returning teachers next school year? Schools without ANY ELECTIVES?

You have a right to know if you are going to receive one this week. Ask… Question… Get the list-

Unknown said...

This is truly a sad state of affairs. How many of us remember that teacher, that coach, that mentor who forever changed our lives? How many of us can look back to that point in our lives and say, that person helped make me who I am today, that person is the reason why I chose the path that I took. Alas how can one be an inspiration to others when they are worried about having a job? If they are one of the "lucky" ones who are merely pink slipped and get to return to work in the fall only to see this cycle continue then, one must ask what's the point? Why are sources of inspiration so expendable? Why do we think so little of the people who we trust to educate our future generations? It is high time that we truly invest in our most precious resource by ending this ridiculous cycle and develop a means of sustainability while making the student centered decision.

Concerned Community Member said...

I cannot believe this happens to our community every year. And, every year it gets worse. Educators should not be state pawns. They should be respected and revered. Sorry EDMS and all other teachers throughout the district. The kids end up losing in the end. How could teachers be expected to work under these conditions? How are they expected to work with the same enthusiasm and passion, knowing that they received a final layoff notice?

Roy Cuizon said...

There were 2 new CC Times articles published today worth reading.

The titles are-

1) Mt. Diablo school district hangs a lot on Tuesday parcel tax vote

2) Mt. Diablo school board votes to lay off more than 400 teachers

Becka said...

It's times like these that the people experiencing the brunt of the damage start to feel jaded. We, justifiably, feel like the system keeps letting us down and that the people who claim to cherish us are instead shoving us under the bus.

So now we run the risk of complacency. I ask you to reject this urge and act. What can we do to stand up to the bureaucracy? We are already doing it, in part. We need to remain vigilant in our barrage of the media and legislators. Let's not stop at just the local level. We can reach a far larger audience - state and federal. Right here on this site is a link to get the contact information for these law makers. We need to make them listen by hitting them with one tool we have: serious volume.

We have spent our lives listening to politicians give lip service to educators; saying how valuable we are and how we are doing the nation's most important work. It is time we call them out on it. This is not how you treat something of value to you. You don't make "revered" professionals suffer through this kind of disrespect TIME AND TIME AGAIN!

Think it over.
Get mad.
Act.

Nathan James said...

These are consequences. Sure I'm mad. Act? Act how? Vote for Measure D. Is that all? We need to realize that as parents and teachers we need to work harder at teaching the importance of a high quality public education and that public funding is the way of expressing its importance. If we put as a higher priority locking up kids for Marijuana possession, if we allow for uncontrolled immigration, if we do not pay attention to who our legislators are and how they are spending our money, and then, we sit and watch a small minority of people volunteer their time and money supplementing the budget for the schools, slowly making public education funded by donation, we then are all complicit in this situation. Then when the economy shrinks, our already strapped education system is devastated further. The teachers who do not get slips should leave too. The fund raising should stop. Act in a unified manner and let the community experience their lack of support so they understand the consequences. Have people make a fundamental decision if they want a fully funded public education system as a top priority. This is a cultural value issue and just like learning to be more green, we need to be loud in order to shift our attitudes toward truly supporting fully funding public education as a top priority.

Nathan James

Anonymous said...

The last two posts used the terms LOUD and VOLUME. EDMS needs to follow what is going on in L.A. That is the next logical step if pink slips are not rescinded.

Your last coverage in insidebayarea.com was written by an Oakland Tribune writer, Katy Murphy. They are affiliated with a few papers printed, as well as on-line sites. That article was in a few papers over the weekend.

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