By Antonio D. French
Filed Thursday, May 25 at 6:27 PM
As we reported yesterday, hundreds of teachers and staff at 13 city schools were given termination letters this week. They were offered the chance to reapply for their positions, but the president of the teachers' union says that the district is not being clear on what the criteria will be used to rehire employees.
Mary Armstrong told PUB DEF that the teachers have been told that they will be rehired based upon "certification and seniority." But Superintendent Creg Williams told the Post-Dispatch that seriority would not be taken into account.
Adding to the tension, Williams told the Post-Dispatch that many more teachers are getting termination letters than the number given to the union. Williams' representatives told the union that only teachers at the schools being reconstituted would have to reapply for jobs. There are seven of those schools, and they employed about 350 certified teachers this year. Williams told the Post-Dispatch, however, that over 1,000 teachers will have to apply for rehiring.
We tried for two days to get a comment from SLPS spokesmen Tony Sanders and Johnny Little, but neither provided one.
2 Comments:
The Teachers Union President, Mary Armstrong has known about this reconstitution of schools since the May school board meetings or before. In fact, Creg Williams discussed the reconstituion plans and the schools in great detail in two different school board meetings. She had enough time to find out the process and notify union members because she was at the school board meetings when Creg Williams discussed which schools would be affected & what the state was requiring regarding fixing the problems at the failing schools. So she knew in advance and that is what Creg Williams alluded to in the press conference and the newspapers. In this video conference she finallly admitted the knew it was coming but she said didn't know the "process & procedure." Why didn't she ask so that she could meet with teachers or send us information. We have heard nothing from Mary Armstrong until we received those letters of termination. Then she decided to do a press conference in which she did not tell thee truth.
We have been informed that we are to be interviewed to reapply for our jobs on June l. We are to bring with us four resumes. If we have been teaching 25 years in the district, what could these resumes say? We've been with the same employer all this time. It all seems to be a part of the superintendent's constant media attacks and humiliation of veteran teachers who chose to stay and teach our children. Not all of us are uncertified teachers, so this is major disrespect.
Sunday, May 28, 2006 2:50:00 PM
I know that the actions of the federal government indicate that they would like to dismantle our public schools. I know that they would like to promote corporate take over of our public education. I know that unions helped to build the middle class and the power of the common person in years past. However, I also know that I have received more harm than help from unions in recent years. It would appear that our unions have been taken over by 'fat cats'. I fear that they have gone over to the dark side. Perhaps we need to reorganize. What's being done to our St. Louis teachers is criminal, and immoral. Ultimately, it will teach our children how little they are valued.
Monday, May 29, 2006 7:24:00 AM
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