U-46 to hand out nearly 500 pink slips

[gatormom]

U-46 to hand out nearly 500 pink slips in coming weeks

www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=274370

Kerry Lester
Daily Herald
2/24/2009

Nearly 500 Elgin Area School District U-46 employees will receive termination notices in the coming weeks.

School board members Monday night approved 471 pink slips for administrators, teachers, substitutes, teaching assistants and secretaries.

Reducing work force numbers, an annual task of the district, must be completed 60 days before the end of the school year, according to state law.

While it's customary for school districts to rehire a number of staff members who receive termination notices, next year's outlook is significantly more overcast.

The bulk of the pink slips - 339 of them - went to educational support personnel. A majority of those individuals are teachers' aides who belong to the District U-46 Education Assistants' Union.

By lowering student-teacher ratios to 25 to 1 in kindergarten through third grades and 28 to 1 in fourth through sixth grades next year, Superintendent Jose Torres has said the number of aides will be reduced.

Several union members protested the move at Monday's meeting, including Kathy Kaminski, an aide at Hillcrest Elementary in Elgin.

"You'd be hard pressed to find a group that cares more about academic success," she said. "We're the least paid and the most dedicated. And yet somehow we're dispensable."

In addition, Torres said he plans to staff special education in the district in accordance with state standards, eliminating 41 special education positions.

Elgin Teachers Association President Tim Davis said this is the first time there has been a reduction in force of the district's teachers since 2003, when the district was more than $40 million in the red.

The difference between a reduction in force and a nonrenewal, district spokesman Tony Sanders said, is that a reduction in force is purely based on budget and staffing needs for the following year.

"We're one of the few districts (in the area) to be losing special education teachers," Davis said. "... They're leaning it out this year."

In a memo last week to staff, Torres stressed the need to "ensure that an appropriate number of positions are reduced so we do not spend beyond our means next school year."

In December and January, the district announced efforts to reduce expenses by $4.4 million this school year.

On Feb. 14, Torres called for $17 million in cutbacks for 2009-10.

Along with approving the termination notices, the school board also approved the reclassification of Canton Middle School Principal James Hawkins, from an administrative position to a teaching position, with a corresponding reduction in salary.

Hawkins and Canton Assistant Principal Mirian Contreras-Allen were informed Jan. 29 they would not be returning in the fall in their current roles. The cuts were part of an administrative housecleaning by Torres that also included seven members of the superintendent's cabinet, Larkin High School's principal and 12 department heads.

Several individuals, including Hawkins' daughter Sarah, protested his removal.

[southsidesignmaker]

The low cost help is always the first to take the hit... Seems a bit counterproductive at times. The right thing imo is to have the hit spread out in salary freezes or reductions. This has worked with some success in the private sector but may be a "pipe dream" in the public sector.

[sportsmom]

That's an excellent idea SSD. But, it would never work in unions. Unions have hurt their members more than helped. Unions are an outdated business model that doesn't fit the current business econcomy. My opionion, obviously.

[southsidesignmaker]

Sportsmom,

I have heard recently and even years ago that unions were an outdated business model. I can understand how some can come to this conclusion, though personally I feel unions are still very viable in the marketplace.

First I would like to state that I am not in a union or ever held membership in a union. That said I feel that unions have helped our community in many ways in the past and still do today. In my trade I work side by side both union and non union personnel. Many differences become apparent quickly, for instance the technical education and background of many tradesmen such as electricians, plumbers, masons, and carpenters that are union trained are far superior to those that do not hold a union card.

With unions making substantial inroads in government, clerical and teaching professions, all of the public has benefited. Many of these new union patrons have had the opportunity to be better trained, becoming more productive, and thus receiving the obvious financial benefits offered by better training.

There are the critics that say unions have made American industry less competitive because of a "bygone era mentality". I beg to differ with this perception on a couple of points: With the recent changes in union contracts regarding automobile union workers, there is much hope that both management and union worker can and will work closer together now and in the future. The realization that unions and management must work in harmony to keep our country competitive has become a reality.

In the future I am very optimistic that a great working relationship will be hammered out between mgt. and labor. A relationship that is based on mutual respect and a can do attitude will indeed prevail.