Comments on: The Tough Work Now Begins

By: PRM

2010-02-08T17:50:31Z

Seth, can you please confirm whether or not SCSD is competing for the additional funding being made available by the federal gov? If so, what is the general timeline for finding out whether or not SCSD qualifies, and what is the formula for determining how much funding a given district can expect? Lastly, will the school board make public reason(s) for why SCSD did or did not qualify for funding? I give financial support to both my local school and the SCEF and want to know the board is pulling out all the stops to mitigate this budget crisis.

By: Seth

2010-02-03T19:01:47Z

Bob — thanks for the comment. I agree that it is very unfortunate that hiring decisions (right now) can only be based on seniority. We have some fabulous young teachers in this district. However, the average compensation (salary + benefits) for teachers is about $80,000, so if all of those savings were gained by lay-offs (meaning higher class sizes), it would translate to around 15 teachers. (Of course the newer teachers get paid less, but also inevitable some teachers will retire or otherwise leave the district). But as I hinted at above, that $1.2 savings will likely not come solely from layoffs — some will have to come from salary reductions. Any amount saved from salary reductions translates into fewer layoffs. In any case, you are absolutely right that the whole situation is very sad.

By: bob

2010-02-03T17:11:24Z

Reality check: $1.2M remaining to cut = 20-25 teachers facing layoffs @ $50K per. And based on the union’s rigid adherence to seniority vs. merit and performance, the youngest, brightest and most enthusiastic teachers will be eliminated. Sad.