published April 6th, 2011 in Ed Week
This article caught my attention as talk about pink slips being handed out has been rampant in the district where I currently work. Everyone has been busy speculating how many staff will be let go if a certain percentage of staff do not retire. The pressure on staff by administration to retire has been intense, and they have even resorted to offering large financial incentives. Last Friday it was announced that the quota of retirees was met, and thus no licensed staff were let go. The article mentioned that there is a timeline in each state for when layoff notices have to be given. I was surprised to read that Oregon’s deadline is one of the earliest in March. In this era of great instability in educational funding, I can imagine it would be hard to predict in March how many staff may be at risk of losing a job. I cannot imagine working in a place like Los Angeles, California or Providence, Rhode Island where nearly every single teacher was given a pink slip so that the districts could cover their bases and meet the deadlines. How unnerving would that be as a teacher to receive a pink slip every year? I wonder whether a teacher who is aware that they will not be in their job next year, is really giving 100% to their school community and other tasks such as PLC’s. I personally would rather wait until May or June to receive a pink slip or until a district is certain about the outcome of my position. It seems that this early warning system is just one more area in education that needs some serious revision.
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