In an e-mail sent to all teachers and School Department staff, Brady said, “We are forced to take this precautionary action by the March 1 deadline given the dire budget outline for the 2011-2012 school year in which we are projecting a near $40 million deficit for the district,” Brady wrote. “Since the full extent of the potential cuts to the school budget have yet to be determined, issuing a dismissal letter to all teachers was necessary to give the mayor, the School Board and the district maximum flexibility to consider every cost savings option, including reductions in staff.” State law requires that teachers be notified about potential changes to their employment status by March 1.Rumors abound that it’s really the new mayor, Angel Taveras behind the plan.
Taveras, in a statement issued Tuesday night, said the uncertainty around the city’s finances, combined with the March 1 deadline, led to this decision. Because it is too early to be certain of all possible changes to the school budget, Taveras said, issuing dismissal notices to all teachers “provides maximum flexibility” going forward.An action like this is reflective of pure incompetence. Any (moderately) well-run institution that does even a modicum of planning can do better than this. And, in a time when it is important to get all community stakeholders – parents, business leaders, volunteers, donors – believing in public schools as institutions that should be supported with faith, time, money and effort, this can only lead to votes of no confidence.
And while I don’t believe for a moment that Mayor Taveras and others behind this plan are explicitly anti-union, I do fear that the prevalent sentiment in America right now makes actions such as this one increasingly possible. It’s in the water.
And when the operative words are "maximum flexibility," the outcome can never be good for the working man and woman.
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