Reduction in Force at BOE: Will Students and Teachers be First?

The Plainfield BOE Agenda shows that the district will be considering a Reduction in Force to balance the budget. In this economy I have no problem with the need to cut staff and make sure that the budget is balanced. I have received a few comments that people are already being laid off. Does this have to go the BOE first?

Since the BOE is known for giving away the store in legal fees I hope that proper procedures are being done when it comes to laying people off and is doing so in a professional way. With the new BOE majority in place for over a year now I am sure that all procedures are being followed and this week they wont be approving a plan that already started with people being let go. Or will they?

The main question that the BOE and district should answer in the next few weeks is will teachers and students be first? There has been a lot of talk about bloated administrations and the Governor himself has come down pretty hard on administrator pay. As a failing district that lags behind even other failing districts and a community that continues to see too many of our youth waste away and die in the street, our schools are even more important. I believe that too often we complain and don't offer solutions to our community's problems. I will offer a few suggestions to the BOE. First put teachers and students first.

In the Reduction Plan I hope the BOE considers teachers and students first. Here are a few suggestions:
1. There should be no teachers laid off to save administrators that do not work at schools with students.
2. There should be a total review of certifications and qualifications for all administrators and staff.
3. In light of the controversy last year, any administrator that does not hold the proper certificate should be either laid off or made to teach students if they are qualified to do so.
4. A review of each department should be reviewed for the number of administrators and secretaries.
5. The BOE should know the impact of laying teachers off on the number of students in classes for next year.
6. There should be openness and transparency about how people are selected for layoffs. Asks questions.
7. The BOE and taxpayer's cannot afford to keep people who are in luxury positions. If you really have to ask what the person does, then they are in a luxury position and should not be kept. No politics or favoritism.
8. To save money the BOE should contract out certain duties that don't require a full time person. This has been popular in the private sector and is being used by many in public sectors these days. My former employer did it to save on overtime and employee benefit costs.
9. If a person's has a job that is tied mainly to projects or seasonal activities, then hire someone just to do the project when they are needed.
10. Look at Human Resources and positions that work with staff in the district. If you are laying off then you are not hiring. If you are not hiring then you don't need as many staff in your HR department.
11. There should be not cuts to programs for students at school and there should be money for all of the things students need such as materials, computers, textbooks, and supplies.

The students of Plainfield should be our priority in any reduction plan. If they are the priority then we will value our teachers. We need to make sure that the resources we have go to support students and teachers in the classrooms.

Let's see if the BOE will really put students and teachers first.