Good evening. We hope that you are taking some time to relax a bit and rejuvenate yourself as we head into mid-August. We have been spending a lot of our time and union resources on the Mass Charter School campaign as we gird towards the November ballot initiative. Please see the information below, and if you have any spare time to help with the campaign — from phone calling to door knocking — we’d appreciate it.
Last week the Globe ran a report about the estimated number (102) of teachers who, the department anticipated, would start the school year in the role of Suitable Professional Capacity instead of in a fully budgeted teaching position. It is well worth a read, and the issue of teachers who find themselves in SPC roles is most challenging as we continue negotiations in the last two weeks of August with the School Department:
The Boston school system has taken steps to reduce the number of teachers who will begin the school year without regular classroom assignments, but more than 100 are expected to face the predicament this fall — costing taxpayers about $8 million in salary and benefits.
The teachers were displaced from their schools because of budget cuts, declining enrollment, or a principal’s desire to hire someone else. Some teachers are also without positions because they just returned from medical leaves.
But the district must keep them on the payroll because they have permanent status under their union contract.
Under a three-year-old initiative, principals can bypass sidelined teachers in favor of outside candidates if they are deemed better matches for schools…