If classes were small or if we were going to stay in A/B hybrid, I could see lay offs. But with class sizes at 30+ and parents clamoring for FT in person instruction, there’s no way that my district is going to try to shed staff. If anything, they are really worried about how to stop the slow seepage of veteran teachers and specialists leaving from turning into a hemorrhage. March was a turning point for many staff. Some put in for early retirement. Others resigned effective immediately. DH is in that latter group. He was teaching as a third career after retiring from the military and then a few years in the private sector. Returning to the private sector made more sense for our family financially and healthwise. His school has not been able to fill his position. There’s daily subs who sometimes work 4-5 days in a row, but no one is asking to stay longer and at this point, the weeks of lesson plans he left for his course have run out so they really need someone who knows the skills and how to teach them. The district has always struggled with finding and retaining teachers for this area of study even as they kept pushing expanding enrollment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would imagine this is based on contracting of budgets (the economy sucked last year, so less tax revenue), plus people pulling kids out of public schools means less funding.

No, state budgets are doing great, from all the stimulus money.

It has to do with the number of students, not state budgets. It means that private schools will be increasing their numbers of teachers -- but private schools don't pay as well as public.

Also non-unionized plus fewer benefits, I'd imagine.

Way fewer benefits, lower salary, less job security.

Treated as professionals. Freedom to develop own lesson plans. Coherent curriculums. Meaningful professional interactions. Well behaved kids (generally). Consequences for kids who don’t tuck their shirts in or who wear hats inside. Prevents things from escalating to attacks on teachers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach and I think some cuts would be good. As is, we cannot fill some positions. Maybe with cuts, we will actually have some good applicants. And those who can't get hired can go do what all young teachers do when there's too many teachers. They can nanny, work at a daycare, do park district jobs, sub or take jobs in undesirable schools or in non union schools that pay poorly. In a few years, they can try again to get a job in a better paying public school.

Clearly you don’t have 29 in an ES classroom because you’d be singing a different song.

Many, many years I've had 30+. If student enrollment is down, class sizes go down too. Then cuts and things even out. I believe in small class sizes, but I believe in a LOT of things that'll never happen in public Ed. The public clearly doesn't give a shit about public schools.

Anonymous wrote:I teach and I think some cuts would be good. As is, we cannot fill some positions. Maybe with cuts, we will actually have some good applicants. And those who can't get hired can go do what all young teachers do when there's too many teachers. They can nanny, work at a daycare, do park district jobs, sub or take jobs in undesirable schools or in non union schools that pay poorly. In a few years, they can try again to get a job in a better paying public school.

Clearly you don’t have 29 in an ES classroom because you’d be singing a different song.

In MCPS they just move people around.

I teach and I think some cuts would be good. As is, we cannot fill some positions. Maybe with cuts, we will actually have some good applicants. And those who can't get hired can go do what all young teachers do when there's too many teachers. They can nanny, work at a daycare, do park district jobs, sub or take jobs in undesirable schools or in non union schools that pay poorly. In a few years, they can try again to get a job in a better paying public school.

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Anonymous wrote:It's not at its root budget cuts. It's less kids. It could be budget cuts due to fewer kids though. Their funding is based on the number of students enrolled (among other factors).

I also don't believe private schools just pick up all these teachers. I think some portion of kids will be doing school under different circumstances and traditional private/public, brick and mortar options are no longer the only game in town.

Exactly. Tons more families are homeschooling, now that we know what's been passing for "education". Most public and even private schools across America have become political indoctrination centers for our children.

Go away, MAGA traitor.

Anonymous wrote:It's not at its root budget cuts. It's less kids. It could be budget cuts due to fewer kids though. Their funding is based on the number of students enrolled (among other factors).

I also don't believe private schools just pick up all these teachers. I think some portion of kids will be doing school under different circumstances and traditional private/public, brick and mortar options are no longer the only game in town.

Exactly. Tons more families are homeschooling, now that we know what's been passing for "education". Most public and even private schools across America have become political indoctrination centers for our children.

Pink slips are already going out back home. It doesn’t mean they’ll be exercised but it is based on only 50% of families who left, returning.

You can’t expect vouchers and vouchers won’t solve this problem. Voters have to support reducing teacher pensions first. You have to cut expenses before you add expenses. Don’t believe me? Check out your state’s annual budget. A reduced sustainable retirement plan for teachers is needed first. It’s good for the state.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of teachers retiring earlier than expected or leaving for other careers. I doubt anyone will end up without a teaching job if they want one.

And all of them will be paid a pension, meaning that the school system has to keep paying them until they die. That’s why there will be layoffs and increasing class sizes.

pensions currently being drawn aren't necessarily on the school board's books

The school board doesn’t have “books”. The state does, and it allocates money to the county. Teacher salary and pension comes from state funding directly. So if you have a problem with your pension, you’ll need to go to Richmond or Annapolis.

I live in one of the top 5 districts in Texas. We are indeed having to lay off teachers. As someone else speculated, yes, we are getting rid of the portables too.

The layoffs are primarily happening at the elementary level. They are consolidating 3 elementary schools into 2.

There is a bunch of stuff about how schools are funded in Texas that is causing this, but that probably isn't that interesting to DCUMers. Aside from that:
1. More parents are opting for home schooling or private. This year elementary attendance is down 16%.

2. Popular school districts tend to have more expensive housing. As housing values have exploded, fewer young families can move into the district. Our population is increasing at the higher grades, but that brings a different set of challenges when we historically have had most students go K - 12 in the district.

This was a direction things were going on thr housing values anyway, but the school board thought it would be another 5 years before it became an issue. COVID significantly ramped things up. Parents are losing their minds about it.

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:As a young teacher, I can only tell you how many vacancies went unfilled this year. The federal government just allocated a ton of money to state and local governments and earmarked much of it for education. If anything, we will need smaller classes and more teachers next year.
It’s comical that parents claim they want a better education for their children while celebrating something that would have the opposite effect. What parents actually want is compliant, docile women to watch their children all day and now they want revenge.

A lot of us just want vouchers since we have given up on the public school system.

Seriously. Where do I sign up for that?

In your fantasy novel.

We just need the numbers, and they're coming. I think it will probably take a year or two after school resumes for parents to realize that their kids are back to learning nothing at school. Or maybe it will happen sooner since a lot of parents are more involved now.

Again, not happening, but enjoy your fanfic if it keeps you warm at night. LOL.

Anonymous wrote:
It's terrible to see the schadenfreude, but good to know that it will be shortlived. Families who took their kids out of public will come running back when schools open in the fall because they cannot afford private school long-term.

Yup. Parents are angry because they had a big hissy fit and are realizing it isn’t sustainable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a young teacher, I can only tell you how many vacancies went unfilled this year. The federal government just allocated a ton of money to state and local governments and earmarked much of it for education. If anything, we will need smaller classes and more teachers next year.
It’s comical that parents claim they want a better education for their children while celebrating something that would have the opposite effect. What parents actually want is compliant, docile women to watch their children all day and now they want revenge.

A lot of us just want vouchers since we have given up on the public school system.

Seriously. Where do I sign up for that?

In your fantasy novel.

We just need the numbers, and they're coming. I think it will probably take a year or two after school resumes for parents to realize that their kids are back to learning nothing at school. Or maybe it will happen sooner since a lot of parents are more involved now.