Honoring a contract non-renewal deadline of May 11, The Lee County School District has listed the number of teachers not renewed for the next school year. But the numbers are fluid, says the district.
The timing and the steps in the process of non-renewing 275 teachers – with another 407 vacancies expected due to attrition –doesn’t make sense to Teachers Association of Lee County President Kevin Daly.
"But it would seem to me that … before they wanted to let a bunch of people go, they would figure out how many of the openings they had and try to make for a smooth transition for people maybe to change schools," Daly said.
"But again, I think their attitude has been cut and then, you can just apply and if you get a job, you get a job. And I guess you're left to your own devices as opposed to your employer kind of making it easier on you to stay with them."
School district spokesman Rob Spicker had an answer for that.
"So there are contractual reasons why a teacher could not be just transferred from one position to another, and we are honoring that process," Spicker said. "That's why we encourage those teachers who have had non-renewals to apply for the jobs that are available."
The district maintains it is aligning its funding with what the state allots per pupil, and declining enrollment isn’t the only factor influencing how many teacher non-renewals a school experiences.
"There are rising costs, there are stable property values, and there is what we have referred to as legacy spending, which is the overfunding of schools year after year after year.
"And some schools are in a position where they're getting more money than similar sized schools."
That explains why a school with, say, just 80 fewer students for next year would experience 18 to 20 teacher non-renewals. Principals each were given a budget based on state funding and made recommendations based on that, with the opportunity to ask for what Spicker termed “bridge funding” for classes outside that scope.
"But it's still very possible that the end figures in terms of, how many people have left the district and how many positions are available, those kind of things change because it's entirely possible that a teacher could retire tomorrow. And now somebody that was not renewed at that school comes back."
Spicker stressed that all decisions are made with students in mind.
“They're at the center of every choice that a principal had to make.”
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