Some of the estimated 700 educators who must reapply for jobs following a massive redistricting and restructuring say Atlanta Public Schools is making a mess of the restaffing process, and unfairly leaving veteran educators vulnerable.
But APS says the restaffing will allow administrators a rare opportunity to reevaluate its personnel and retain the best candidates that fit the district's emerging needs.
Earlier this month, the Atlanta school board voted to close seven schools and restructure a handful of others. The district also plans to end its "small" high school program, which will result in the loss of some positions at four affected campuses.
These changes will likely result in layoffs for teachers and administrators, although officials have not yet said how many. Superintendent Erroll Davis is not planning to reassign teachers, and instead will let principals decide who to hire at schools.
“Principals are responsible for the success of their schools when it comes to student achievement,” said APS spokesman Keith Bromery. “You can't exactly make them responsible for situations they don't control, especially when it comes to the selection of their faculty and staff.”
Bromery said many of the displaced educators will likely be hired to fill new positions. The district did not say how many educators will have to reapply for jobs, but according to state data about 740 educators worked in affected schools during the 2010-11 school year.
Jill Beracki, who teaches at South Atlanta High, said it doesn’t seem like the district has a plan for how to deal with job cuts. Her school is being consolidated from three small schools into one. Teachers have been told they will have to reapply for their jobs, but not much else. APS said educators will be notified about their options once the transition plan at these schools is finalized.
“I’m an older teacher. I have a mortgage, and I am by myself,” said the 28-year teaching veteran. “My biggest fear is being out on the street because I am not able to pay my mortgage.”
Beracki, 58, said she worries about competing in the job market with graduates who are 22 and cheaper to employ. APS should offer early retirement incentives, she said, or at least get a handle on how many positions are going to be eliminated next year.
“APS has said it will not take into account seniority as one of the criteria,” she said. “That says to me, even though you have worked for us, you’ve put in all this time, it doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything.”
APS has scheduled job fairs for educators to interview with principals, but those are also drawing complaints.
Patrick Crabtree, a technology and early intervention teacher at Adamsville Elementary, attended a job fair held Saturday and said the lines to interview were so long, he was only able to apply at two schools.
Crabtree said he’s not against the redistricting plan, and believes in the end it will help make Atlanta a stronger school system. But he believes the process for eliminating positions should be fair and should include all teachers in the district, not just those unlucky enough to work at a school affected by the changes.
“When you’ve given your all, worked 12 years, and gone through the interview process, how many more hoops do you have to jump through?,” said Crabtree, who is the past president of the Atlanta Association of Educators. “We are not at the circus.”
The Atlanta Federation of Teachers wants teachers and staff affected by school closings to be given first priority for job openings throughout the district. The group believes teachers should be allowed to name their top three choices, and that performance and seniority should be used in determining new job placements.
“We don’t back away from seniority, because if those people were unfit, they would have been fired by now,” said Verdaillia Turner, president of the federation.
Turner said allowing principals to choose isn’t fair because many are brand new or and their opinions are subjective.
In a letter to educators dated April 20, Superintendent Davis said APS staff is still trying to determine the overages and figure out how many employees may be laid off. The district isn’t projecting a decrease in enrollment, so many of the positions will follow students to the new schools. Officials point out that this is the normal time of year when staffing transitions happen in public school districts.
Vanessa Cox lives across from Woodson Elementary, which under the redistricting will split with Grove Park Elementary so each school has three grades. As a result, teachers at both schools must reapply for their jobs.
Cox, who has children and grandchildren attending APS schools, feels it’s wrong to displace teachers, especially those who have been on the job for decades.
“When you take the teachers away, you take away the stability. When you split the school up, you take away the stability,” she said. “In order to learn, you have got to have some constancy, but all the consistency is gone.”
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