Teacher Layoffs

City Council - stop fighting the Power Plant.


On the same day it's being reported that over 200 teachers are going to be laid off; there's this:

BROCKTON – Brockton High School has again been named a premier high school in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of more than 4,700 high schools nationwide.
BHS earned a Bronze Medal for academic excellence, the sixth time the 4,200-student school has been honored since 2008.

Won't be a Premier High School too much longer if the threatened layoffs happens.,

Mayor Bill Carpenter offered school officials a pair of budget options for fiscal 2016 this week, which both are grim.

One, which funds the 17,000-student school district’s budget at $163 million, means 233 teachers would be laid off.
The other, coming in slightly higher at $164.5 million – if he can find another $1.5 million by week’s end – causes the dismissal of just 173 teachers.

Brockton is already facing a $4.2 million deficit thanks to unanticipated snow and ice removal and other costs, Carpenter said. Add in another $1.5 million for the schools and municipal layoffs are a given.

“On the city side, that means projected layoffs of potentially 16 firefighters and closing one station,” the mayor said.n He said, however, that it is not a trade-off for teachers, but just an area that can be cut.

Everything is on the table for potential cuts, except for police positions, he said: “There is no scenario where I am going to be laying off cops.”

If Brockton welcomed a proposed power plant that has been trying to open for a decade, as well as a proposed casino, which was the subject of Tuesday’s vote, it would thrive, he said.

m.enterprisenews.com/article/20150512/NEWS/150518821/13406/NEWS

I'm not an employee of the School Department. I watch every SC Meeting and knew every line item that was presented last budget. There was nothing left to cut. They were able to bring back teachers due to severe cuts. 40 Paras were not returned as well as custodians. The School Department can't sustain 200 teachers being cut. It will impact dramatically. I don't know the numbers but agree that we appear to be top heavy in administrators but learned that they are minimally cut. The 200 plus Certified cut will be the lowest seniority (usually 4 years or less) making the lowest money. That's what you get they're told, blame the Union. Yet no one "blames" the BPD OR BFD Unions. I realize I have an interest but it's a tough thing to be constantly never feeling secure. Never feeling like you can make a large purchase, become a homeowner in the COB due to the uncertainty. Yeah I know get out of the profession she's been told, go to another school district. She loves Brockton Schools diversity and challenges but you can't live with the anxiety every Spring. So my rant is over. I just wish folks wouldn't paint every teacher in the COB with such a broad stroke.

Right not there are many positions being cut including those in administration. We continue to work with the mayor to find every available dollar and hope that as the budget progresses we can find additional cuts to make so we can bring back teachers but as our funding becomes tighter and tighter we face challenges that we cannot continue to cut into programs much deeper than we have without laying off bodies.

What we have been fighting for is chapter 70 reform. We are active in the reform process and have been to almost all of the reform meetings with representatives from our district and other urban districts. As we continue to service high needs populations our costs continue to climb without the funding to provide the services

BrocktonDave wrote: repeal the lottery caps... That will give you your funding back.

I assume that can only be done at the State Level?

I also assume Administrators aren't in the Union so they're not subject to the RIF's. But the question always arises why are we so top heavy in Administration. Administrators typically make between $75-100k. You have to layoff 2 teachers to 1 Administrator.

I know I'm passionate about this and not because my kid is a teacher. She has two degrees and an almost completed Masters. The hope is she's a good candidate for other School Systems. They recognize the excellence of being a product of BPS and and the amazing training a teacher receives here. She got a tremendous education here and was accepted to many prestigious colleges as a result and attended one on an academic scholarship . Played two Varsity sports, NHS, etc. but as you cut teachers and programs you lose the the things Colleges are looking for. Intramural Middle School sports cut last year. What's next intramural? So no Middle School Sports? Less teachers means less Clubs. It's a domino effect. I know the budget is a Challenge and I know there is no appetite for a tax hike but you're losing one of the primary reasons a lot of families stay in Brockton, education. Maybe if the CC Would stop fighting the PP we can get that revenue? Maybe that's a start?

I remember from last year's discussion that Admins are not laid off. They go back to teacher jobs making the SAME $$. You will lose the lower paid newer teachers.

IMO, families will stay here because of a school system that has to offer so many programs, ESL, specialized programs for kids who can't be mainstreamed. We need more money from the State, but our Reps are too busy working on windshield wiper laws which become an insurance boom. Thankfully, this is being re-visited.

Returning Main St. to two way traffic will solve many problems also.

Daisy unfortunately A lot of ESL families don't pay property taxes, water and sewer. I understand they pay rent but they don't pay enough into the tax base to make a dent.

Why would returning Main Street two way help? More business?

It will do absolutely nothing. I was being sarcastic Sorry!!

Sportsfan wrote: Returning Main St. to two way traffic will solve many problems also.

Funny you should mention it. I am not joking - a person who works for the school department recently told me this is going to happen "very soon." The two-way traffic (again.)

If teachers are tired of this ritual, change the contracts. The passion is there for those folks who work (or have loved ones who do) in the BPS system but nobody (and that is not solely directed to instructors, I include admins, parents, etc. too) wants to give anything. To those who do not have a direct interest, it reminds me of "The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf." Each year the scare is followed by a retraction - even if it takes a few extra months. I'm sure the hard-working teachers do not appreciate the watering down of their cause, but that is what happens when the panic is always followed by the reversal.

I remember last year talking about academics far outweighing (in my opinion) extracurriculars. I support the need for teachers, but do not feel the same passion for clubs and more than the basics for sports. When I was in high school we went home, did our homework, then met other high school kids and socialized in the neighborhood. We played music, ball, talked. There was no trouble; our parents were just behind the open windows. Brockton has so much to offer, but it can't all be free and essential. It's like the annual discussion about cutting school bus routes. Since the casino is a "go" to the next step, we should band together and make sure the state hears one unified voice. We need revenue, we have a good opportunity on our door step, and we should organize and make it happen. This may afford a less stressful May for our teachers. Just a side note. I know a teacher in a much smaller MA city. The feeling is that they would give anything to work in Brockton. Why? The extensive state support and funding we have due to our hardships and our high pay scale.

A May 15 deadline to alert teachers to impending lay offs is not “artificially early” as city and school officials contend, said Kimberly Gibson, the president of the Brockton President OF BEA which represents more than 1,400 teachers.

Her comments came after Mayor Bill Carpenter presented two budget options for Brockton schools for 2016 – one, at $163 million, called for 233 teachers to be laid off.

And the other, at $164.5 million, that cuts 173 teachers. A decision will be made Thursday night.



Both Carpenter and School Superintendent Kathleen Smith said this week that massive numbers of Reduction in Force notices could be averted if they had until June to finalize the budget.
But Gibson disagrees. “If there truly is going to be a layoff we want (teachers) to have an opportunity to go out to another district for a job,” she said of the contractual date. “And those districts are hiring now.”

m.enterprisenews.com/article/20150513/NEWS/150518195

the money renovating city hall plaza would have been better spent on our schools!

I agree but elected officials will jump and say But it was a Grant. Well maybe the Grant process is screwed up? Tell that to the 200+ teachers getting RIF notices tomorrow essentially putting their professional lives on hold for the next month and a half. Priorities, my friend.

too bad those colleges couldn't set up shop downtown sooner than later because the city could really use that tax revenue!

I know right because all these Non Profits are paying more than their fair share

The Mayor asking these church's and institutions is a waste of time. IMO. Good on him for trying, but why would anyone pay more than they need to? But we're going to layoff 200+ plus teachers. That's being a Good Neighbor?

what we should do is build free housing on the fairgrounds for the folks at tent city!