R.I. city votes to fire all teachers

[Forkboy]

School board officials in Providence, amid a growing national debate about the role of labor unions, voted this week to fire every teacher in the financially strapped city’s public schools.

The move, which has enraged the city’s nearly 2,000 teachers, came after officials advised the board that it would provide them more flexibility in coping with a yawning budget deficit. City officials said the decision was necessary because Rhode Island law requires schools to notify teachers by March 1 if they will not be rehired the following school year.

“Given where we are in the budget process, we needed to retain the maximum flexibility we could to manage what inevitably will be significant cuts to the school budget,’’ said Melissa Withers, a spokeswoman for Mayor Angel Taveras. ‘We could not afford any situation where we would have more teachers on the payroll than we could pay.’’

Teachers received letters from Superintendent Thomas Brady this week that described the “unprecedented action’’ he was advising the school board to take by issuing every teacher a termination letter. Brady noted in his letter that the city would have “the right to dismiss teachers as necessary, but not all teachers will actually be dismissed at the end of this school year.’’

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2011/02/26/ri_city_votes_to_fire_all_teachers/

[defendandprotect]

1. Interesting bunch of school board members ... hmmmm...

[sakabatou]

2. So who will teach the kids this new school semester?

[Recursion]

10. The same teachers; they said that

They're doing this so that they can cut some of the positions; they haven't figured out which ones yet. So the teachers get to spend the summer not knowing if they'll have a job in the fall. I imagine some of them will get other jobs, which will do the board's work for it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. It's an attempt to ignore seniority in the contract

And it's disgusting.

[deacon]

3. 2012 will be bleak for the GOP.

[BlueIris]

12. It's not looking too good for us, either.

Do you really think the teachers will look at the Democrats as the party that helped them out during this crisis?

[Initech]

4. When are we going to start taxing the fucking billionaires and corporate profits?

Our cities are going broke because we don't do that!!!!! And now shit like this happens! :argh:

[divine_truine]

5. For some reason, these Koch-whores seem not afraid to show their true colors...

...in the midst of their 'budget crisis.' These traitors know not where their allegiances lie! Recall their asses! Call a special election! Why did city council members let their budget get away from them? Sounds like irresponsible bookeeping if you ask me. Fire them all!

[Initech]

6. If Obama were serious about fixing the economy, he'd put them on trial for treason.

It's getting clearer and clearer what they're after. And honestly, I wish there a way the government could legally takeover Koch Industries, strip them of their assets, and put the criminal Koch Brothers on the trial they belong on.

[Kurovski]

7. K&R. (nt)

[HEyHEY]

8. Uh.... so, like.... uh who's gonna teach next year?

[Recursion]

11. Most of the current teachers

As they said, they're not actually firing all of them; they're "firing" them so that once they decide whom they are firing they can fire them. It sucks, but they're not actually replacing the entire teaching staff.

EDIT: I should have said "so that once they decide whom they are firing they can fire them, and give everybody else a pay cut".

[eilen]

9. Teachers should boycott RI schools.

and throw rotten fruit at any picket crosser/scab.

[Robb]

13. I see the AFT local is stepping in. What percentage of the teachers belong?

[Chemical Bill]

17. All the teachers are union. n/t

[Chemical Bill]

14. This is union busting, plain and simple.

The past years have had layoff notices if there were any uncertainty about staffing levels. The layoffs would start at the newest hires, as per contract, and rarely hit a large percentage of teachers. This year ALL of the teachers were FIRED! The talk is of not rehiring some of the older, experienced teachers, due to "performance" (of the students).

The Providence superintendent and the RI commissioner of education are both Broad Academy grads (surprise, surprise).

http://www.broadacademy.org/fellows/239_Deborah+Gist.html

http://www.broadacademy.org/fellows/14_Thomas+M.+Brady.html?page_filter=0

Bill

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. +1