500 L.A. school district jobs saved

Los Angeles Unified School District officials announced today that they were canceling nearly 500 layoff notices.

Administrators at school sites opted to use funds to "buy back" 500 positions, including those of teachers and counselors, according to the district. L.A. Unified faces a nearly $133-million deficit this fiscal year and has issued preliminary layoff notices to about 2,500 employees.

The district must resolve this year's deficit before July 1.

-- Jason Song

Comments

[jerry]

So where did they magically find the money? Was it a ploy to make us vote for higher taxes in the last election?

[michael]

Some how by July 1 no one well be layoff. If the union took the 3.5 million it try to get Prop A and B pass to the schools that would have save 50 jobs. Since most teachers make 70,000 for about 6 hours and 180 days. That come out to be almost 65 dollars a hour. Not a bad job yet 50% drop out rate and 80 to 85% of the budgets for schools are for the teachers. Please help the Kids!!! With a 12% unemployment rate I'm sure I could fire all the teacher in LA and hire a new staff at 50,000. Plus still have a 50% drop out rate.

[Marcos El Malo]

michael, did your teachers get laid off, or did you not learn to speak and write English for other reasons?

[Hank]

Folks, 500 jobs isn't that much, when you consider the number of teachers that have been laid off. By the way, you don't need to worry about the money; these are the lowest paid teachers in the lausd system.

[Ms M]

Most of us with those layoff notices do NOT make $70,000. We're the first, second, and (in my case) third year teachers who still have the energy and the determination to actually be innovative for the sake of our students. You'd be hard pressed to find a teacher who only works a 6-hour day. Among the 110 teachers at my second school site, I can think of only a few who show up at 7:30 and leave right at 3. Most of us arrive much earlier, stay much later, and fill our weekends and evenings with student art shows, awards banquets, dance supervision, and school sports events.

Everyone rails against teachers for all the "perks" of this job, but few consider the extras that we bring on our own without being asked. Additionally, few people outside the profession possess the patience and the creativity to function with our highly dysfunctional, urban poor kids. Like to have a kid stand up, spit in your face, and say "F*ck you, stupid white b*tch!" when you ask her to put away her iPod during class? Prepared to stand in the doorway against a wave of 14-year-olds determined to bust out of class on 4/20? Willing to explain to 8th graders why their school, despite boatloads of Title I money and other state or federal assistance, doesn't have any educational field trips? And how long would you stick around in a job where the boss doesn't ever back you up, the "clients" are allowed to be verbally and physically abusive, and the media paints you as a lazy paycheck collector? It takes a special kind.

Spend a week in any LAUSD middle school or high school. Learn that the organizational dysfunction does NOT start in the classrooms. Recognize that our kids are coming to school with plenty of issues, not developing them as a result of faulty instruction.