Boston Public Schools has notified hundreds of teachers and classroom aides in recent weeks that they may not have jobs in the fall as the city finalized a difficult budget that will require scores of layoffs.
The number of job losses will not be settled until after school starts in September, but more than 500 newer teachers have been notified that their contracts were not being renewed for the next academic year, according to Boston school officials and the Boston Teachers Union.
Teachers’ contracts are often not renewed for reasons other than budget cuts, and dozens have already found new positions in Boston. Ultimately, however, hundreds of teachers could be out of a job.
Boston Teachers Union president Erik Berg said another 102 paraprofessionals are currently slated to be cut, which would be a sharp reduction in the classroom aides that are particularly important in special education. That number also may fluctuate by the fall.
The reductions mark the second time in three years that Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration has eliminated school staff in the face of declining enrollment, rising costs, and a net drop in state education revenue. In an interview Thursday, Superintendent Mary Skipper expressed sympathy for those who lost their jobs and said the city is helping as many teachers as possible find a position in another Boston school.
When Skipper started out as a teacher in Boston in the early 1990s, she said, her contract did not get renewed three times but she kept applying for jobs. Her perseverance paid off.
“For people that love the profession and teaching, just keep working at it and we will keep working with you,” Skipper said.
One of the recent notices was sent to Kelly Weygand, a special education teacher at the Roosevelt K-8 School in Hyde Park, who is eight months pregnant. It arrived June 11 via email and said that although Weygand’s contract was not being renewed that should “not diminish the value of your contributions.”
“I don’t feel valued,” Weygand said.
The second- and third-grade teacher had planned on taking maternity leave this fall. Now, her health insurance coverage is scheduled to end shortly after her due date. She has applied to at least 10 other job openings at Boston schools but has not received any call backs.