Teacher Layoffs Felt In Classrooms, Katy ISD Still Cutting Positions

Teacher Layoffs Felt In Classrooms

Read the entire article here:  http://www.click2houston.com/education/28806255/detail.html

 The final budget cuts and number of teacher layoffs may vary from school district to school district, but almost no school in the Houston area is escaping them this year. You may not see the signs of those the layoffs and cuts on the first day of school, but teachers and principals said they will show more and more as the year moves on.

"There are just more kids to teach and fewer teachers to teach them," said Andy Dewey, executive vice president of the Houston Federation of Teachers. "That's going to show up one way or another."

The Houston Independent School District is the largest school district in the state. HISD lost 500 teachers after final layoffs. In HISD, principals made the final decisions on how budget cuts would affect their schools.


Cy-Fair Independent School District leaders said their district did not have massive teacher layoffs, but it didn't fill hundreds of vacant teaching positions.

Katy ISD starts the year with 53 fewer teachers after it was able to rehire more than 200 teachers originally let go earlier this year.

The end result of layoffs for many school districts is more students in classrooms. Teachers and principals said they're expecting anywhere from a handful more students per class to as many as 10 extra students per class compared to last year.

Dewey said he will have 20 more students spread out across the classes he teaches at HISD's Carnegie Vanguard High School. Increased class sizes are expected more in middle schools and high schools because there are state-mandated class sizes in Texas elementary schools.

"If we see more students in our classrooms and no extra time to prepare for them and grade them, we're going to see less effective teaching, and it's going to show up in the long run," Dewey said.

Along with fewer teachers, HISD said parents and students should plan on fewer "extras" they have relied on inside schools in the past.

"You might show up to school and you had two librarians last year; now you have one," said Jason Spencer, a spokesman for HISD.

Along with fewer "extras," Spencer said some school-sponsored class field trips will be canceled. Teachers and principals said there will be fewer special education aides and after-school tutors. Some tutoring programs will be eliminated altogether.

"All of those are special programs that kept a lot of kids engaged," said Dr. Bob Sanborn, chief executive officer of Children at Risk in Houston. "Those are the very programs we're cutting."

Sanborn said students who need that extra help may be the ones most left behind with budget cuts.

Katy ISD to Reduce Central Office and Non-Campus Based Personnel

(August 1, 2011) - As part of the reductions aimed at making up the $27 million shortfall in state funding in the 2011-12 budget, the district began the process Monday of notifying approximately 70 non-campus based employees that their positions will be cut.

Approximately 176 positions will be cut as part of this action. The number of staff members actually impacted is lower than the number of positions cut due to vacancies already created due to attrition. The affected positions are in central office administrative and professional staff, non-campus based paraprofessional staff, and maintenance and custodial personnel. In addition, individuals whose positions are cut will be eligible to interview for positions that may exist at the campuses.

“This phase of cuts is necessary in order to hire back teachers and campus-based support staff, and allows the district to continue payments for employee health insurance and to maintain current transportation services,” said Katy ISD Superintendent Alton Frailey. “As we saw our budget picture improve from what all indicators were pointing to in the spring, our first step was to look at our campus staffing to see how we could bring back as many teachers as possible. While just as difficult as the first round of layoffs this spring, reducing our staffing in non-campus based personnel allows us to bring back teachers into the classroom where they are most needed.”

Frailey added that while the loss of personnel in the maintenance and custodial divisions will have an impact on services at the campuses and departments, the district will work to mitigate any large negative impact this may create.

At its July 25 meeting, the Katy ISD Board of Trustees approved a campus staffing plan that allowed for the rehiring of 214 out of 267 teachers who had originally lost their jobs in April. At that time, the district was looking at a $50 million dollar shortfall and a state mandated April 19 deadline to notify teachers of their employment status for the 2011-12 school year. Between April and July, more than 100 teachers were able to find other teaching positions within the district as others voluntarily resigned or retired.

“The Board recognizes that this has been a very difficult time for our employees and our community as we have had to wrestle with the implications of reduced funding from the state,” said Katy ISD Board President, Joe Adams. “Overcoming a $27 million funding shortfall is not an easy task and I commend everyone who has worked diligently over the past several months to ensure that we have a sound, fiscal budget for the upcoming year.”

Katy ISD is a TEA Recognized district serving more than 60,000 students. Covering 181 square miles west of downtown Houston, Katy ISD is comprised of 53 campuses, and with more than 8,000 employees is one of the largest employers in the West Houston area.