Public school systems across the United States are in financial trouble – witness the school in Rhode Island that recently fired all of its teachers – and now Tulsa Public Schools are part of the disappearing spending budget act. The Tulsa World reports that 286 total teachers for Tulsa Public Schools aren’t coming back after the summer. That’s about 10 percent of the total number of teachers who work for Tulsa Public Schools . It doesn’t even take into account the 125 office and support staff who had already been released. Reports indicate that it is not an exercise in discarding dead wood, either. The best teachers deserve to stay, not fall under the axe because some administrators won’t sacrifice salary to keep teachers on for the children.
Media says Tulsa Public Schools will try to recall half
The Tulsa Public Schools administration would like to bring back half of the dismissed. But as the World states, that will depend a great deal upon the Oklahoma legislature. Without their spending budget approval, bringing them back is an impossibility. The disenfranchised instructors will need the installment loans for people with bad creditif approval doesn’t come through.
Saving dollars but lacking sense
No number-crunching can hide that $15 million in savings on the school system’s spending budget pales in comparison to the human casualties. Teachers could have to pick up the pieces and try to steer their own families in a financial boat with a broken rudder; similarly, the kids can have to try to learn when being stuffed into leftover classrooms like sardines. The World quotes Tulsa Public Schools Director of Human Capital Roberta Ellis as saying that they’re trying to be kind, then relays the usual platitudes about how it’s tough all around. One wonders how much personal salary Roberta Ellis or any top-level administrator at Tulsa Public Schools sacrificed in order to make certain fewer teachers had to lose their jobs. The peons are almost always the victims, rarely the top brass.
Baby boomers stand pat while teachers suffer
Tulsa Public Schools did offer early retirement packages that involved paid health insurance, but only a small percentage of the holdover baby boomers took the escape. Cash bonuses for early retirement had been offered before, but the older teachers largely balked. Sadly, this lack of baby boomer compassion (and possibly preparing) kept the 286 younger teachers from a saving grace.
The reality of a world torn apart
The principal of Eugene Field school within the Tulsa Public Schools system is quoted the World as saying that some of the teachers who were let go had just bought new homes. One of those teachers is a single mom. Some would say that’s simply the breaks when it comes to being a teacher in this economy, but these people may not be aware that while teachers suffer, some administrators are going on retreats and setting up their tee times. The kids of Tulsa Public Schools should know that even if they learn nothing else that will prepare them for the world, at least they can learn from this debacle that being a mediocre administrator is inexcusable.
Article Sources
Tulsa World
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=332&articleid=20100513_19_0_TulsaP94353
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