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DPS vacates 2,600 jobs at 41 schools
The poor academic performance at the selected schools required such a drastic move, said district spokesman Steve Wasko. It follows Bobb's decision in May to fire 33 principals in troubled schools and reassign 37 others.
Marisa Schultz
Detroit -- About 2,600 Detroit Public Schools teachers and staff will have to reapply for their jobs by Friday or face losing their positions under a massive shakeup that has union leaders crying foul.
Forty-one schools will be "reconstituted" and all staff positions among them have been declared vacant, according to a human resources notice circulated at schools Tuesday.
Every teacher, counselor, aide, specialist and assistant at these schools must request an interview with their principals this week.
According to the notice, staff who fail to comply with the district's instructions will be assigned to "a position." It was not immediately clear whether those positions would be comparable the ones lost or how those assignments would be determined.
Union blasts action
Detroit Federation of Teachers President Keith Johnson called the action by Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb a travesty and a violation of the union's contract with the district. He vowed to meet with legal counsel today to determine the best course of action.
"Blatant disregard for the terms of the collective bargaining agreement will not be tolerated," Johnson said. "As much as they talk about 'the emphasis is on students,' there is nothing about this that is in the best interest of students. It's going to be chaotic and have an adverse effect on students' instruction, plain and simple."
The poor academic performance at the selected schools required such a drastic move, said district spokesman Steve Wasko. It follows Bobb's decision in May to fire 33 principals in troubled schools and reassign 37 others.
"This level of profound transformation is not only appropriate but necessary" at failing schools, he said. "This creates an opportunity for the newly selected principals to interview for their own staff in time for this new school year."
Wasko declined to respond to the union's contention of a contract violation.
"There is a process between now and mid-August through which positions will be selected and filled," he said. "These staff members may apply."
Bobb, appointed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, is four months into a one-year term to turn around the district's finances. There was no immediate reaction from Granholm's office. Mayor Dave Bing declined to comment.
Most of the restructured schools have been assigned new principals who don't know the current staff, Johnson said, adding he saw a draft of DPS's plan on Monday. "A draft normally means that this is an idea, but the next thing I know I'm getting bombarded (Tuesday) with calls (from teachers) wondering if they've got to prepare their resumes and applications by Friday."
Principals will review applications from current employees only, first from staff of reconstituted schools, staff from closed schools and then district-wide requests for transfers, Wasko said. Staff were instructed to check online for the list of vacant positions and hand-deliver a completed request for an interview to the human resources department by Friday.
Teachers and staff who are not selected by the principal will be asked to participate in a "Reconstituted Schools Selection Fair" on Aug. 1, Aug. 3, or Aug. 4. Human Resources will notify staff of their assigned date, time and location, according to the memo obtained by The Detroit News.
'Outrageous and wrong'
"They are trying to make scapegoats out of the very people who have dedicated their working lives to the young people in this city," said Steve Conn, a teacher and union rep for Cass Tech who has been circulating a petition to "stop the dismantling of Detroit Public Schools."
"It's outrageous and wrong and we are going to fight it."
What's needed are smaller class sizes and adequate books and supplies, he said.
"I'm saddened with what's happening," said John Wilkins, a teacher for 22 years and band director at Mumford, where students and staff held a rally to support their fired principal this year, to no avail.
"If major changes are necessary to make our schools work better, then so be it," said Wilkins, who is on summer break and hadn't heard the details of reconstitution. (But) Mumford was doing things right. I felt that strongly. I'm sorry to see that Mumford was thrown into the lot."
Under union policy, principals can't hire and fire who they see fit, Johnson said.
Under the contract, "a teacher who has been forced to transfer due to reduced teacher service shall have priority to return to his/her school if a vacancy occurs for which he/she is qualified."
The most recent contract, which expired June 30, says teachers must be laid off in inverse order of seniority.
"No teacher shall bump another teacher except to avoid layoff. In this case, the teacher bumped shall be the teacher with the least system-wide seniority in an area for which the former teacher is qualified to teach as described in the above section," according to the Detroit Federation of Teachers contract.
The contract calls for 60 days notice of layoffs, though the letters sent Tuesday specified they were addressing staff who "have not been noticed for lay-off."
Negotiations on a new contract are under way.
Respect for Bobb's effort
Linda Keteyian, fifth grade science and math teacher at Priest Elementary School, said this was the first time in her 25 years with the district her school has been "reconstituted."
She tends to disagree with seniority rules of the union and respects what Bobb is trying to do to improve the schools.
"We all have to interview for our jobs again and (the principal) has the opportunity to choose her staff, which is appropriate because she is under pressure to make (federally required adequate yearly progress)," said Keteyian, who just had a successful interview with the new principal -- the former assistant principal, who knows her work.
The reconstitution announcement comes shortly after Bobb publicized the hiring of four professional management firms to turn around 17 of the districts 22 high schools. Those schools are among the campuses where staff must reapply.
Detroit News Staff Writer Mark Hicks contributed
— Marisa Schultz
Detroit News
2009-07-22
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090722/SCHOOLS/907220369/DPS-vacates-2-600-jobs-at-41-schools
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