BREAKING NEWS: Providence to Rehire 1,400 Teachers

BREAKING NEWS: Providence to Rehire 1,400 Teachers

The Providence School District announced a plan to rehire about 1,400 of the roughly 1,900 teachers who received termination notices earlier this year.

“I recognize how difficult the last two months have been for teachers, students, administrators, parents and for everyone who is a part of the Providence Public School community,” said Mayor Angel Taveras.

He added: “We are hopeful that the Board’s ability to rescind letters of termination for the majority of teachers will bring peace of mind to many of the City’s hardworking educators. I am confident that this plan strikes the right balance between being fair to teachers and being fair to students.”

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The letters will be sent immediately to 1,445 teachers, including all those at a school not slated for closure, except the Asa Messer and Messer Annex schools.

School board approves rehiring plan

Under a plan approved by the school board Monday night, about 370 teachers will not immediately receive letters rescinding their termination notices. Instead, they will be allowed to compete for an unspecified number of remaining open positions in the district.

The city expects that it needs to cut 40 to 70 teaching positions in order to help deal with a $28 million deficit. City officials say termination notices were sent to all teachers to meet a March 1 deadline for notification of a possible change in their employment status.

The school board plan also eliminates the special category of laid off teachers who became substitutes, known as R’s in Pool, and earned about $26,000 more a year than regular substitutes.

A third group of 119 teachers don’t have the possibility of having their termination notices terminated. This group includes those who are being dismissed for disciplinary or performance reasons.

The city has also filed a motion for declaratory judgment in Providence County Superior Court asking the court to confirm the legality of the plan, according to Taveras spokeswoman Melissa Withers. The motion also asks the court to confirm the legality of issuing termination notices to all the teachers in the first place.

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