Teachers

[Maradona]

"California Distinguished School" means nothing.

I beg to differ, Mr. Chux. It means that California has an excuse to reduce your school's funding.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

In the last couple of days, we've gotten phone messages, emails, fliers, and various rumors and stories about the cuts our district is expecting. Worst rumor heard: ALL teachers with less than 10 years experience will get pink slips just in case. That'd include me. Definite fact: over $10 million in cuts over the next two years.

[Maradona]

In the last couple of days, we've gotten phone messages, emails, fliers, and various rumors and stories about the cuts our district is expecting. Worst rumor heard: ALL teachers with less than 10 years experience will get pink slips just in case. That'd include me. Definite fact: over $10 million in cuts over the next two years.

My district is a few hundred million in the whole. Massive cuts are being discussed. All non-permanent teachers are expected to be laid off with others joining them seemingly an inevitability. A strike vote is looming and fears are high. I'm in my 8th year and can no longer imagine a life without working as a teacher. Worst case scenario, I move to Japan to teach English and live in the future.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

My district is a few hundred million in the whole. Massive cuts are being discussed. All non-permanent teachers are expected to be laid off with others joining them seemingly an inevitability. A strike vote is looming and fears are high. I'm in my 8th year and can no longer imagine a life without working as a teacher. Worst case scenario, I move to Japan to teach English and live in the future.

A strike? Seriously? I would think it would be more important now just to have a job. And firing teachers is just going to mean larger classes. I would think that I'd rather take a pay cut and keep my job, thus allowing the district to save some money without firing as many people, and keeping class sizes more manageable.

I just found out today that starting next week, we will have our hours cut back
to 36 per week. This allowed us to not eliminate any positions, and I think we were unanimous in our appreciation.

[El Chuxter]

If his district is like my wife's, they keep something like eight million in the mandatory "rainy day fund," which they won't touch, claiming it's "for a rainy day."

Well, uh, what the hell is this?

They're closing an entire school in the district where she teaches! An entire frigging school! Though all the teachers who get canned won't necessarily be from there, those who teach there now and keep their jobs will displace other teachers somewhere.

Meanwhile, the superintendent makes a half-million a year, has his car, gas, and cell phone covered, and has an entire staff, each of whom make more than any teacher could hope to make in that profession.

That kind of disparity is why districts are considering going so far as to strike.

[Maradona]

Well put, Mr. Chux. If it would keep me employed, I would take a reasonable cut and I want to believe most people would. Administrative cuts must coincide with this. Cuts must be balanced across the board because once they happen, whatever was lost is NOT coming back.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Our district does have its reserves (in fact, they say there shouldn't be anyone this year who is not paid, but for how many years after this, they obviously can't tell), so we've been told no IOUs. But the state's pondering over eliminating classroom reduction is scary, as all the freshmen English teachers (me and 9 others) will add 16 or so students to each class, clearly dropping quite a few total classes. Bye-bye good test scores and strong foundation, district.

[TeeEye7]

Today is the last day of spring break (formally known as Easter Vacation) for my wife. She doesn't have the "back to work blues". Quite the contrary. She knows she only has about six weeks left in the school year and then summer vacation!

How much time do you have left before you're free at last!?

[Jedi_Master_Guyute]

How much time do you have left before you're free at last!?

For me, a few weeks, if that. I teach two classes tomorrow and then will be holding optional conferences on Wed, Thur, and next mon and tues, meaning no classes. I then have two days of presentations with their final projects due the last week in April. So, in theory, i'm about 95% done with one real day of teaching left. yay!

[JetsAndHeels]

I have about 5 and a half more weeks, then I am home free!!