Wednesday, April 26, 2000
CPS to announce teacher cuts today
111 jobs at risk; 'How' a key issue
By Marie McCain
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Teachers' union representatives will pay close attention today as Cincinnati Public Schools officials announce their list of 111 teacher casualties in the district's latest round of budget cuts.
At 11:30 a.m., the board will be presented with two lists of those who'll get pink slips: one based on training and education, the other based on seniority. The board will decide which list to approve.
However, union officials say if the administration uses any other criteria than seniority, serious problems could lie ahead.
Despite language in the teacher contract affirming the use of training and education to determine who should be let go, the district has — for the past 19 years — based similar decisions strictly on seniority.
The change is unfair, union representatives say.
“This has undermined the trust the teachers have in the administration and particularly in the superintendent,” Rick Beck, bargaining chairman for the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, said Tuesday.
“The repercussions could affect negotiations over some other issues that both sides want to happen,” he said. "
District officials say bad feelings will exist no matter what way is used.
“We are trying to adhere to the teachers' contract,” said CPS spokeswoman Jan Leslie. “If we do it by seniority, you have that number of teachers upset. If we do it by experience and training, then that group will be upset.”
Union officials say a better solution would be to offer financial incentives to teachers who “voluntarily separate” themselves from the district.
With that plan, a teacher could retire early and receive a $35,000 bonus spread out over five years, in addition to his or her pension, said Bob Buerkle, retirement chairman for the teachers' union.
The incentive would be paid from the difference in salaries of an experienced teacher and that of a newly hired teacher, he said, adding that Columbus has already tried it and realized millions of dollars in savings in the first year.
CPS officials, however, say they've tried retirement incentive programs in the past and have lost considerable amounts of money.
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