Finances force Lee Co. Schools to lose teachers
Staff Writer
Published: May 12, 2009
All non-tenured teachers in the Lee County Schools were essentially fired Tuesday night, only to be rehired minutes later under a different contract.
Superintendent Dr. Stephen Nowlin recommended the school board not renew the current 189-day contracts for about 200 teachers at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting. Then he asked the board to rehire most of those teachers and some additional staff, under 187-day contracts. The board agreed unanimously.
The reduction was one of several Nowlin announced Tuesday in a memo to teachers and the board as the school system faces massive shortfalls in state and local revenues.
Between Lee County’s 12 schools, Nowlin said they will lose between 25 and 30 teachers next year. Some are due to retirements and resignations, but the majority are because of the reduction in funds, including 14 funded solely by the state.
“We literally don’t have the money coming in for the amount of teachers we had this year,” he said.
A number of teachers, both tenured and non-tenured from Loachapoka Elementary School, attended the meeting to witness the board’s action, which they deemed demeaning and disrespectful.
“It’s not about the money,” said tenured-teacher Rob Harlan. “It’s about respect.”
They didn’t like how officials handled the situation, notifying staff by e-mails and letters instead of in person. They also doubted the financial situation is really as bleak as Nowlin made it sound.
“We’re concerned,” Harlan said. “They’re talking about fiscal responsibility, but we’re not seeing fiscal responsibility.”
Parent Andrew Gracia was the only person at the meeting to address the board on the staffing issue. He asked a number of questions of the board during his allotted time, including why teachers, parents and staff weren’t included in a discussion about ways to save money, knowing he wouldn’t get any answers.
“Their decision was made before we got here,” he said after he spoke.
Tenured-teacher Elizabeth Brannon said she scoffed at Nowlin’s comment about how the system will endure the difficult times ahead together.
“He’s says we’ll make it, but he’s never been in my classroom,” she said. “He has no idea how difficult it’s going to be.”
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
curious here…how does a board legally terminate—non-renew—employees and immediately re-hire? Can anyone explain that to me, in light of the laws requiring posting of vacancies? (Isn’t a vacancy created when a person is non-renewed?)
You can complain to the board members,the principal, and anyone else who will listen! Not until the public gets involved and expresses their concern, will things change! My son has that teacher this year and I know first hand how wonderful she is!
I have a question: Why are we letting good teachers go but Dr. Nowlin is getting his yearly raise?
Yesterday, several good teachers were let go including a math teacher/coach that was worth keeping. This man was a great teacher and good role model for the students. Who do we complain to?
mmk1314- Teachers who are let go and rehired before the first day of the next school year do not lose their tenure. Those teachers who were released on Tuesday night and then rehired did NOT lose their tenure.
This is very sad and unfair to the teachers. Those teachers who will be rehired will still lose their tenure. The county should have followed Auburn City Schools and reduced everyones contract days instead they coerced nontenured people in Lee County to sign a voluntary contract to reduce their contract days and then non-renewed them anyway. Maybe they should look at other ways to cut the budget first, like not buying brand new cars for central office staff and not hiring ANOTHER assistant superintendent. Non-renewing teachers should have been the last option.
jcarter - I appreciate the time and effort it takes to grade essay papers. You apparently teach older children. My problems have been with elementary teachers. Those teachers are building the foundations you will work off later in these children’s education. When the introductory letter I get from a first grade teacher is riddled with mistakes, I, as that child’s parent, have every right to take issue with it. This should not have been a rush job, or a task that had time constraints placed upon it.
Predators? I’m not sure how you pulled that accusation out of my comment, so I won’t even address the absurdity of it.
Supportive parents? Would you consider taking personal leave to help with book fairs supportive? How about taking leave to help a teacher cover the material in her room in preparation for standardized testing? How about buying more supplies than are asked for? Being available to any teacher that should need to communicate with me about any issue concerning my children?
I’m not painting all teachers with a negative brush. I start every year, with each new teacher, with an open mind. I go to open house, introduce myself and my children. I explain the issues they have - learning disabilities, etc. - and ways to handle them. I tell about their personalities (both pros & cons). I provide as much contact information as possible. And still, I have been disappointed time after time. I’m not sure what else I’m supposed to do - perhaps you’d like to tell me what I’m missing?
Irkidd - I’m not sad or bitter. I’m angry. Again - I’ll restate that good teachers are hard to find, and should be paid accordingly. I’m not denying either of those statements.
I also think this situation is unfair, because I know of a woman who, by all accounts, should have been hired by Lee County. I’ve seen her in action with children and she is phenomenal. I’ve also had personal experience with a teacher who humiliated and shamed an ADHD student, and then called the parent to “be sure the point was made”. Guess who employs her still?
I don’t take issue with all teachers. Again - I’ll restate - I have had the pleasure AND HONOR of having some incredible women teach my children. I will always appreciate the effort they put into their job.
I do take issue with those teachers who have no business trying to teach children, when they themselves are ignorant in rudimentary English and mathematical skills. I have a problem with parents who sit back and take no part in their children’s education, who meekly believe that they have no right to demand a decent education for their children. I also have a problem with a school system that supplies so little to the fundamental parts of a child’s education - good, quality teachers - but will invest in unnecessary gadgets and luxuries.
I’m sorry I’ve shattered the walls of your “Shangri-La”, by stating my opinion. You think it has nothing to do with this topic, and I think it has everything to do with it. If the tenured, but unsatisfactory teachers could be weeded out, then the newer, untenured would have a chance to show their stuff. There were some good teachers who were affected by this situation. There are some abysmal, unhappy teachers who won’t be touched. Where’s the fairness in that?
You know I usually don’t post anything on sites like this but I really feel the need to do so this time. Grammerguardian, you are out of line. There are a lot of teachers out there who are worth fighting for. I am not a teacher but I am a mother of 5 and, for the most part, have had wonderful teachers who have had very a positive influence on my children’s lives. To lash out at all teachers because of one bad one is unfair and should not have been included in this post. It had nothing to do with the topic at hand. You just felt the need to put someone down probably because of your own insecurities and that needs to be left out of this topic. You are a sad bitter person who has nothing better to do than to be mean.
Well, another teacher bites the dust. As teachers, we are taught not to judge (grade) students based on just a few grades. That is just common sense! However, Lee County schools has done just that by letting go a teacher who is adored by her students, has succeeded in her yearly observations, has put in time during the summer to be an AMSTI participant, and the list goes on. Not to mention, she is a local woman who graduated from Lee County Schools and planned to retire with them! She is one of a few teachers who don’t just pass this way waiting to move on. This happens mainly because of the university. I would think Lee County schools would want to lessen turnover. This teacher lost her job because she lacked two points passing a state mandated test. If she was unworthy of teaching, she would not have students and fellow teachers literally crying for her this morning! I am ashamed to work for a system that got rid of a teacher because they judged her on one test. What would happen if we did that to our students?
I am proud to be a teacher and I take offense to your comments. When I grade 130 tests/papers with many essay type questions, there are bound to be a couple of mistakes. I am human before I am teacher. You should not judge all teachers based on the few that you deem unworthy. We are not all sexual predators either! Thank goodness for supportive parents! They are few and far between! Those who are, bless you! By the way, I apologize in advance for any mistakes in this comments. I am very busy this morning. You see, this is my very short planning period where I have a list of things to do a mile long so I am typing in a hurry.
Actually, hbd1932, that wasn’t the only spelling error in your post. You also had assistant as “assistent” and, one of the most common mistakes - a lot - it’s two words. Okay, so “believe” was a typographical error. Don’t you proof your work before you hit send? And you didn’t catch the other two on the second read, either. I’d bet you’re a teacher.
Now, in the combined school “careers” of my sons, we’ve unfortunately come across only three teachers who left a positive impression. The others have sent home papers with errors on them so obvious, even my children caught them. Some have been ambivalent about teaching, others have been hateful. Teaching is a very hard job, but as with any other career, if one can’t show SOME work ethic, there’s no point in continuing along that path. I have no problem with teachers getting paid what they’re worth, but I also feel there are too many who are tenured that should have been fired years ago. Your job should be no safer than mine. If I made the errors some teachers have made, if I had the attitude some teachers had, my director would have fired me long ago.
Advertisement