Teachers Response

Pontiac teachers respond to administrator's plans

Friday, March 6, 2009 1:55 PM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAYOf The Oakland Press

Teachers’ union executives are urging that top school officials be fair and follow the union contract if they carry out a proposal to issue layoff notices to unionized employees in the Pontiac district next week.

The executive board of the Pontiac Education Association issued the statement after it met Thursday in reaction to the administration’s plans.Acting Superintendent Linda Paramore said she and her Cabinet are recommending that all employees be laid off effective June 30.

The unusual action is necessary, she said, because half of the district’s schools will be closed and high schools and middle schools will be combined, calling for major changes in staffing and leadership when schools open again in the fall.

The district is in the midst of restructuring in order to help eliminate a $12 million deficit and to improve student achievement.

On Thursday, the union’s executive board issued a statement acknowledging the union does not make decisions for the administration, “but it is this union’s responsibility to ensure that the current leadership follow the language of the contract.

“It is our duty to demand that this central administration and the board of trustees be fair, follow the contract and provide timely notice to our members.”

Paramore said the Pontiac Board of Education will consider the layoff recommendation Monday.

If the board approves the action, employees, including principals, will be given layoff notices as early as Tuesday.However, Paramore said her goal is to let employees know before the school year is over whether they will be returning to work next fall.

The goal is to issue recall notices by April 30 to all staff who will be returning in the fall. She is also hoping the district will be ready at the same time to notify parents which elementary school their children will attend in the fall.

All high school students will be in a new merged high school to be redesigned and located in the Northern High School building. All seventh- and eighthgraders will be combined at Madison Middle School on the Northern campus.

In order to complete the restructuring by the time school opens in the fall, the board has approved one-year contracts with two consultants. One is working on a redesign of the high school, the other to ensure all schools that remain open will be ready for students; that each school has a principal, teachers and staff assigned and classes and curriculum planned; that all equipment and teachers’ supplies are moved to the merged schools; and all the other schools are closed and secured in a proper manner.

Irma Collins, president of the Pontiac Education Association, Wednesday said she opposed the extensive number of layoffs.

Collins said she didn’t think it was necessary for the administration to lay off all teachers to accomplish their desired results. She said Thursday she had been told initially that about 100 to 160 teachers would be pink-slipped, which she said would have been adequate.

Union officials took the opportunity Thursday to send a couple of verbal barbs to the administration in their statement.

“We will no longer allow the Pontiac school district to blame the economic plight, lack of cohesiveness and inconsistencies on teachers. The current leadership has made a point to criticize this district for supporting a ‘friends and family network,’ while they continue to bring in past friends and colleagues as consultants.

“We will not sit by while this administration uses the layoff or displacement as an excuse to continue this practice. We oppose unnecessary funding to create positions for consultants. The funds should be directed to the immediate support of the classroom,” the statement read in part.

Paramore said meetings were planned Thursday and today with district employees to provide information and answer questions, and future meetings will be held as well. Layoffs will be done according to union contract requirements, officials said.

In the draft of a letter to be provided to teachers’ union members, Paramore said, “All employees will receive layoff notifications between March 10 and 12, 2009, hand-delivered to their work locations. Absent staff will receive their letter via certified and U.S. mail.”

To be eligible to be considered for recall, proof of certification must be on file with the human resources office. The recall list will be reviewed by the PEA president and will be published in all school buildings and central administration office.

The human resources and curriculum departments will initiate the recall process with the assistance of the PEA president. Staff members will receive initial recall notification via the telephone.

If not reached, they will receive written notification through first class and certified mail, according to the letter to union members.

Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana.dillaber@oakpress.com.