Teachers

2009 has already started to be a very tough year. Everyone I talk to has been affected by the recession, either in job layoffs, cuts in benefits or salary, stock losses or other cuts. No one that I know has been exempt. Teachers and employees in the San Juan school district will all get pink slips this spring. A pink slip is a warning you may be out of a job in the fall. Though California public education may receive $15 billion over the next two years if the federal stimulus package passes, estimators put California’s educational shortfall at $9.7 billion over the next 18 months. With the recession and California’s financial crisis, districts don’t know what numbers they’ll be working with for next fall. In better financial years, most districts are able to bring back most of their pink-slipped workers before the fall session. This year, 2009 will be much different for most school districts across the nation. The unfortunate thing about this, I think, is that older teachers who have lost enthusiasm for teaching and may be mediocre teachers get to keep their jobs, while newer, fresher teachers who have enthusiasm and new ideas lose their jobs. It comes down to how many years you have done your job, not how well you do it. It is a shame we cannot kill two birds with one stone by keeping only the best teachers and improving the quality of education, and getting rid of the worst teachers while improving the bottom line.