The five-minute warning bell was not the first sound to ring out across Coe Elementary School's playground last Thursday morning. Several children gathered around an electric piano and sang songs taught by their music teacher, Krista Carreiro.
Carreiro is one of three teachers at Coe who have received layoff notices. The music was part of a larger demonstration for which approximately 200 parents, teachers and students gathered to rally against critical elements of the Reduction in Force (RIF) process that began earlier this month when 165 teachers throughout Seattle Public Schools received layoff notices.
Earlier this month the district made the decision to implement a reduction in force of certified staff-including teachers, counselors and librarians-as well as teaching assistants, special education assistants, bilingual translators, managers, clerical and office staff.
The district's other efforts to balance the estimated $34-million budget shortfall for the 2009-2010 fiscal year includes school-building closures, a hiring freeze, using some reserve funds and making changes to the transportation program.
The Seattle Public Schools' budget deficit had been projected at only $25 million but was increased to $34 million following decisions made in Olympia on how the state was managing its own $8.5 billion deficit.
The rally was organized by the Coe Parent Teacher Association. "Our real goal is to have the district slow down," said PTA member Laurie Reed. The district hopes to hire back many of the laid off teachers when the final budget is determined this fall. The deadline for other teachers to inform the district if they plan to retire or leave their positions for other reasons is late August, just before the next school year begins. Until then, however, the board is moving quickly to reassign displaced teachers.
Under the state's contract, each teacher has the right to an appeal and the PTA is asking the district specifically to "delay the assignment of replacement teachers until the effects of attrition and retirement are understood, until enrollment is closed, and until all RIF appeals have been settled."
Harry Pierce, president of the Coe PTA said of the teachers at Coe, "Our teachers are a group, a family, they're part of our family. It's no accident that we have successful programs because our teachers have been spending an incredible amount of time building teams and working together collaboratively to create programs that are successful."
Pierce cited the extremely successful Writer's Workshop program which has been spearheaded by the other two teachers at Coe who have received RIF notices: Gretchen Salter and Amanda Turner. "If teachers are to be called back they should be called back to where they were teaching originally," Pierce said. Part of the PTA's petition reads, "It is costly, time consuming, and unnecessary to train replacements, especially when the district has identified these teachers as likely to be recalled."
Michael DeBell, president of the Seattle School Board's PTSA also attended the rally and described the impact the layoffs have had on some children. He acknowledged that teachers have worked hard to negotiate other agreeable terms under the contract. DeBell said that what everyone can do to help with this situation is to "support young teachers."[[In-content Ad]]
