Date Change Demanded for Teacher Layoffs

Date Change Demanded for Teacher Layoffs

 

Another local lawmaker is calling for the state’s mandatory March 1 layoff notification date for teachers to be changed to June 1.  Senator Louis DiPalma has introduced legislation that would push the notification dates back by three months, a move he says would allow cities and towns more time to look at budget uncertainties and make the right decisions.

DiPalma said the current process is flawed and only causes anxiety for everyone involved.

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“Because of the way the state and local budget systems work, schools have very little information about what their budgets for the following year are going to look like by March 1, when they are required to notify any teachers who might be laid off,” DiPalma said. “The result is that they often have to issue excessive pink slips to dozens or, in extreme cases, even hundreds of teachers to make sure they’re covered for the worst-case scenario when their budgets are prepared. It’s an unnecessary, frightening and disruptive experience for teachers, students and parents, and it hangs over their heads from March 1 until the budget is settled months later.”

Bill Would Hurt Teachers

DiPalma’s proposal comes after Providence Mayor Angel Taveras (at left) made national headlines for issuing termination notices to every teacher in the school district. At the time, Taveras defended his decision by blasting the current process that requires teachers be notified of potential layoffs by March 1.

“State law requires that teachers be notified by March 1 about any potential changes to their employment status. This law puts us in the very difficult position of having to issue notices before the budgeting process is complete,” Taveras said. “Decisions around school funding must be made in a careful and well-planned manner that best serves students, schools, our teachers, and the community. Unfortunately, the March 1 deadline does not coincide with the careful budgeting process we must undertake to make sure school funding decisions are made in the best interest of all.”

But some teachers union leaders say pushing the notification date back would cause even more stress for teachers who may need to find a new job.  They say a June deadline would leave little wiggle room for teachers.

“This is just another way of putting things off and taking it out on teachers in the end,” a teachers union source said. “Teachers deserve time to apply for new jobs and changing the notification date would serve to severely impact that process.”

Situation Isn’t Helpful

But DiPalma contends that because so many teachers are often hired back, the process of a March 1 deadline just creates panic within the entire community.  He noted that it was a waste of resources to issue notices when school districts don’t know the actual amount of teachers that will be laid off.

DiPalma said his bill will provide more time for cities and school district to make more accurate decisions.

“I understand that there has to be a deadline for notification, because teachers have to prepare if they might not be returning to their schools, and they need time to begin looking for other employment,” DiPalma said. “But it doesn’t help them if they get a notice that’s based on a lack of information. It’s hard for them to know how real the threat is, but even so, it’s very disconcerting to have the threat of layoff hanging over the teacher’s head for the rest of the school year. I’m sure the situation isn’t helpful to the education process.”