Thursday, December 02, 1999
Teachers union complains about substitute hiring
BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Nearly 100 Cincinnati Public Schools teachers are long-term substitutes not certified to teach the subjects or grades they're teaching, according to a study by the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT) that will be released today.
Another 18 long-term substitutes were illegally hired despite the availability of certified teachers, the union claims. CFT President Tom Mooney filed a complaint with the Ohio Department of Education, asking for an investigation.
State law allows districts to hire substitutes only after the superintendent certifies to the Ohio Department of Education that fully certificated applicants are not available to fill teaching positions.
In 18 cases, certified teachers are available but instead are working day-to-day substitute shifts, Mr. Mooney said. The district should replace long-term subs with those certified CPS teachers, he added.
“Kids are entitled to a fully qualified teacher who knows their subject and knows how to teach it,” Mr. Mooney said.
Bob Townsend, the district's interim human resources direc tor, couldn't be reached Wednesday for comment.
The union based its study on data the district's personnel office provided, Mr. Mooney said. The long-term substitutes it cites were hired to fill vacancies and not those tem porarily replacing teachers who are ill or on maternity or other leave.
More than a third (36) of the 94 long-term substitutes in the union's study are in special education; 10 are in math; eight each in science and music; three in art; two facilitators; and 27 in other fields such as vocational education.
School board members say
the union's findings reflect a teacher shortage locally and nationally — particularly in special education, math and science — and prove no ill intent on the district's part.
“Cincinnati, like many other school districts, is having to rely on substitute teachers for a significant proportion of its teaching staff,” board President Lynwood Battle said.
The district is working to alleviate its shortage of teachers in math, science and special education, Deputy Superintendent Rosa Blackwell said.
Math teachers who aren't certified in that field now are being trained in math, she said. Teachers not certified in special education and science who now teach those disciplines also will be trained in those subjects in the next two years, she added.
And some certified teachers now working as daily subs rejected district offers for specific permanent positions, Ms. Blackwell said.
District Counsel John Concannon said such problems are inevitable with such a large staff. The district employs about 3,500 teachers.
“It's certainly the district's preference to have people teaching in the areas that they have certification,” Mr. Concannon said. “When you've got a district with over 3,500 teachers, positions sometimes arise where you don't have the properly certified person.”
The district, union and Mayerson Academy have formed a joint committee to improve CPS's recruiting efforts. Goals include hiring all new teachers earlier in the year to ensure the district gets the best pick and recruiting from historically black colleges to diversify staff.
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