Financial emergency. That's what the Fort Bend board and Superintendent Tim Jenney are calling it now. So why call it an emergency? The answer is simple. In the 2009-2010 school year, hundreds of teachers were laid off from Fort Bend.
Teachers and librarians are called chapter 21 contract employees, meaning that they are under a contractual salary position for the amount of days specified on the contract. As long as those employees are not under the probationary period, any riff (lay off due to reduction in force) could be considered a breach of contract. As a result, all of the Fort Bend employees who filed grievances because they were laid off last year were eventually offered their jobs back, most of them were given back their old jobs. Of course, most teachers have neither the time or patience to fight city hall, and your local school district is counting on that. Once Fort Bend has declared a "financial emergency", this may be the legal loophole they need to fire Chapter 21 employees without reason and be able to dodge the breach of contract. After last year the district added a clause in teacher contracts allowing them to break the contract at any time.
Teachers and librarians are called chapter 21 contract employees, meaning that they are under a contractual salary position for the amount of days specified on the contract. As long as those employees are not under the probationary period, any riff (lay off due to reduction in force) could be considered a breach of contract. As a result, all of the Fort Bend employees who filed grievances because they were laid off last year were eventually offered their jobs back, most of them were given back their old jobs. Of course, most teachers have neither the time or patience to fight city hall, and your local school district is counting on that. Once Fort Bend has declared a "financial emergency", this may be the legal loophole they need to fire Chapter 21 employees without reason and be able to dodge the breach of contract. After last year the district added a clause in teacher contracts allowing them to break the contract at any time.
One can simply take a look at the info on Fort Bend ISD to see where the money is going - and where it's not. While you read this, remember that Tim Jenny was given a raise based on his performance in the district over the last few years and you can bear this in mind while you read the Chronicle article.
Fort Bend has an 11.7% failure rate. Of the 81.5% who take the SAT or the ACT, only 35.2% are meeting the criterion. For every one teacher, there is at least one non teacher position in Fort Bend. That's one administrative staff for every one teacher in the classroom. The AVERAGE central administrative salary in Fort Bend is $115,182 while teachers only make an average of $51,846. Average pay for admins at the school level isn't too bad, though: $76,606. Average paraprofessional salary isn't even enough to live on, $7996. But here's the kicker. The total state revenue per pupil in Fort Bend is $8651, but Fort Bend only SPENDS $4882. That's only 56.4% being spent on actual classroom instruction. And Tim Jenney's salary is $260,669, not including perks and bonuses.
By ZEN T.C. ZHENG HOUSTON CHRONICLE
March 8, 2011, 11:40AM
(this article was retracted and corrected by the Chronicle and will not be posted here).
These declarations are basically an admission that the leadership has failed. Time to resign Mr. Jenney!
ReplyDeleteI agree strongly!!! We need a new BOT to replace him. Don't count on the lone active candidate J. Reynolds to vote to oust him though. She is very much tied to his coat strings.
ReplyDelete"For every one teacher, there is at least one non teacher position in Fort Bend. That's one administrative staff for every one teacher in the classroom." This is such an ignorant conclusion. "Non-teacher" includes IT people, custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, paraprofessionals, secretaries. . . . When you say stupid things like this, it discredits anything else you say.
ReplyDeleteFBISD also declared a financial emergency in 2010, so much of the first paragraph is nonfactual.
ReplyDeleteI read the first paragraph. I'm not sure what part of it is not factual. The writer, whoever it is, is just suggesting that financial emergency may be some sort of justification for RIF's. Which I really hope it is, otherwise why are you letting them go? But then it goes on to say how non teacher to teacher ratios are one to one. That other comment is correct about them being bus drivers, IT, etc. It would be interesting to see what other districts are doing. I think the point about not overspending on unnecessary positions is an important concept in a large district.
ReplyDeleteThe one to one ratio is an important phenomenon in school expenditures. Perhaps the number of non teacher personnel is necessary, perhaps not, but it has risen drastically in the last five years. This is the subject of the "Red Apple Project". http://redappleprojectsite.com/my-school-district-info-2/
ReplyDeleteThe post is an engaging profusion of helpful information that is interesting and pleasingly composed. I pay tribute to your conscientious work on this and thank you very much for the sharing. simplepayday.co.uk
ReplyDelete