Bittersweet....

Today is a glum day around the school district I work in, especially at the school I teach at in the afternoon.  Last Friday was the deadline for Principals to notify individuals whose positions were eliminated due to budget cuts and at least 11 teachers from our building were cut (including several tenured teachers).  I can't even imagine how this will impact our building next year.  District-wide we had to cut $25.4 million from our schools in one year, the biggest hit of all time.  It is very likely that an additional $10 million will be cut due to an Education Bill that the MN House of Representatives passed next week.  If this bill gets signed into law by the Governor, all teachers in our state will have our salaries frozen for the next two years. (That majorly stinks considering I am now at the point where my salary jumps up significantly each year!!!)
This time of year is one that always makes me nervous because my position as Gifted Services Specialist has been on the chopping block too many times.  This year my prayers were answered and my positions are being kept intact.  That is wonderful news for me, but I am feeling very sad for my colleagues that have to move on :(

Comments

[Ang]

I'm glad you still have a job Kristi! That's a big deal these days... I'm also sorry for your colleagues, I can't begin to imagine!

[anne]

So glad your job is safe- whew! There are certainly things I don't miss about teaching...and the worry at the end of every school year is one of them.

[Kristi S (sweetsauer)]

We had to cut ELL teachers at both schools too :(

[Rhonda]

Losing teaching to budget cuts or any other way is sad and I get a little angry every time I think about it. Being a retired teacher, I understand what teachers go through every year without the added stress. My prayers are with all teachers.

[Thomas]

This is shocking and ridiculous. How the hell can you do cutback in education even though its recession. This is cutting your leg off for a thorn that stuck in your toe. Absolutely ridiculous.

[Michelle Sauer]

I'm happy to hear that you are safe this year, but yes, it is always unfortunate to lose even a single teacher. This is our future we are talking about!

[Mojo]

The stinkage isn't limited to MN -- or even to teachers. Just yesterday our new Guv signed an Executive order that is going to take back 0.5% of all state employee's salaries for FY 2008-09 in a two-month period. So basically we'll all get a 0.25% ding in our next two checks. But, nice people that they are, they're going to give us 10 hours of time off by way of compensation. And this is on top of freezing longevity bonuses for 2 years -- the year I finally became eligible for it for the first time. But they'll give us a couple of days off to compensate. Which is the same stunt the last Guv pulled in FY 2001-02 and 2002-03 when the state budget was in the crapper last time. But all he did was freeze raises and hiring, we didn't actually have to pay back salary we'd already been paid.

And the expectation is that it'll get worse before it gets better. I'll be okay if the furlough project doesn't go too much further than the current level, but there are an awful lot of people that won't. For them, 0.25% is a make-or-break proposition.

Maybe the state should take some budgeting lessons from those folks, huh? I'm sure there are a few grants and contracts out there that could use re-evaluation.