School layoffs likely; district, union fail on buyouts (1400 jobs gone)

http://www.cleveland.com/clevelandschools/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/108556392114351.xml

And in Ohio the "hits just keep on coming".

"Hundreds more jobs in the Cleveland schools will be lost the hard way through layoffs after union leaders and administrators failed to agree on a buyout program Tuesday.

Employees had been asked to give up 3 percent raises due to them in July to pay for buyouts.

Cleveland schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett told school board members in a hastily arranged meeting Tuesday night that the buyout idea is now off. But she said cuts still must be made and when the next school year starts, 1,400 employees will be gone."

This is just sickening. The teachers were asked to give up their piddly 3% raise (yes, we all know how overpaid teachers are already). When they refused, the board announced 1400 lay-offs to help close a $100M dollar shortfall.

"No child left behind, education pResident my A$$!"

What is $100M to help pay for quality education? It's an effing drop in the bucket. By my calculations that is close to 1/2 a day in Iraq.

If OH votes for this chimp this time around, then they really do deserve the Cleveland Indians.

On a bright note. My two formerly wing-nut Rush listening brothers are voting for Kerry this time around.

localities...
This is utopia by way of Grover Norquist.


www.chimesatmidnight.blogspot.com

should be made a matter of NATIONAL SECURITY!!

Look at the idiots we have in charge now. Our wonderful "C" student is so mentally challenged that he lets a convicted embezzler and Iranian spy make US foreign policy.

If we were to fully fund our schools, then maybe * would have gotten the "F" he deserved and he could go back to ruining baseball teams.

and the conservatives will say "social promotion is terrible".

Ohio has gone so much to hell in a hand-basket under this mis-administration that he was forced to go to blue collar country and talk about health care. Lord knows he couldn't talk about jobs.

is trying to bully the union into doing what it wants. They are giving the teachers limited options (either 3% cut or 1,400 jobs) without acknowledging there are other ways to trim the fat in a district that size. Granted, teachers' salaries are by far the largest expense in a school district's budget, but the administration is playing dirty by trying to pit teachers against other teachers and parents. It's divide and conquer tactics at its best (or worst!). Does the district really need to cut $70 Million from its budget? That's an approximate figure of what 1,400 jobs would save....


Fully funding NCLB would help, but federal funds are a minute portion of a school districts budget. Most funds come from the state. To really help get federal funds into schools, write your congressional delegation now about the IDEA reauthorization. Currently the federal government pays for 17% of IDEA, whereas they promised 40% (back in the 1970s). This 23% encroachment of special services into the general budget really hurts districts. Then you can write them again about fully funding and fixing NCLB. Visit www.nea.org to see sample letters and additional information how to help teachers better serve our children and communities.

Doesn't the school district in Cleveland get money from property taxes as well as from the state? How did this $100M shortfall happen? Did they take a hit in property tax collections? Do they need to sell some bonds? Did the state screw up in terms of its funding?

It sounds like the teachers are taking a hit, one way or another, and as usual, the problem isn't their fault. And to think I actually want to get back into the classroom!

The pay raise elimination would save $22M. The shortfall is $100M. Without an infusion of funds through a bond measure, tax increase, or * forbid, federal money, that would still leave a $78M shortfall.

Looks like what they will do is cut the 1400 jobs and still push for the elimination of the 3% teacher raise.

It is so bad in my brothers part of Ohio that he has to shell out $600 a year for his son to play sports! I really got under his skin when I told him "yeah, but you got a $300 tax-cut from Shrub!

It was about that time, and when his friends were getting laid off and bought out that he started to see the light as to what this joker has done to our country.

And they said "how much damage could he do in 4 years?"

Bond measures are for facilities, buses, renovations, etc. These funds cannot be used for teacher pay. Most moneys come from the individual states. Each state has a different formula in how they figure the base revenue limit and how they give ADA (average daily attendance)moneys. The formula the state uses with the school district can dictate income. Yes, some local moneys, such as property taxes, etc. go to school coffers as well. This kind of shortfall though is indicative of major problems in management. How long has the district had to find alternatives to making the cuts furthest from the classroom? I agree that the district will attempt to do both -- layoffs and pay cut. The only problem with the pay cut is that if they negotiated this pay raise, it would take the teachers voting to change the negotiated item. And from what I'm hearing, I'm not sure that teachers are going to be terribly happy succumbing to the hardball tactics and mismanagement of this district's administration.

The school district that I work in has cut funds dramatically over the past three years. We have just finished another round of budget cuts. We have cut over 10% from our district budget in the past three years. This is due to a slow strangulation from the federal and state governments that are afraid to raise taxes to pay for these services. They would rather see it rot from beneath their children and grandchildren than take credit for properly funding the investment in education.

"Employees had been asked to give up 3 percent raises due to them in July to pay for buyouts. Late Tuesday afternoon, after hearing proposals from representatives from two companies that would administer a program for departing employees, union leaders said they would agree to buyouts. But they would not agree to give up raises, leaving the issue of how to pay for buyouts up to negotiation later."

Looks to me like they wanted to use the 3% raise to pay off remaining contracts of teachers that would be let go. Maybe like a severance package.

Here's what the union lawyer said:

"But Sarah Moore, an attorney representing Local 701, whose members include assistant custodians and safety workers, said she is convinced there were other ways to pay for the buyout program.

She said she also wanted proof that all the money saved by giving up raises would have gone toward saving jobs."

Sickest thing of all was I went back to the link, and RIGHT THERE was the fricking Bush-Cheney add with Pickles saying "Education is my passion". Irony is not dead. I wish I knew how to do it, but a screen shot of pickles "education is my passion" right in the middle of a story about 1400 teachers getting pink slips would be b-e-a-utiful.

Why should the Federal Government raise taxes and then spend administration costs sending it to the state, and letting the state pay administration costs to send it to the counties, and let the counties pay administration costs to give it to the school districts?

Isn't this what local taxes are for?

such as the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act) and NCLB (No Child Left Behind). These federal mandates cost extreme amounts of money for the local districts. These are underfunded mandates. IDEA is funded at 17% rather than the promised 40%. NCLB is grossly underfunded, leaving districts little choice but to cut and slash programs and teachers. Education is a very small piece of the federal budget pie (like around 3%). The US has one of the lowest % of GDP for education spending in the industialized world. For the richest nation on earth, you'd think we would invest our money more wisely.

a multi-million dollar education budget on property taxes alone? The state picks up the tab for about 70% of education budgeting. Less than 10% comes from the federal government. Federal monies are usually Title funds or dealing with special programs. Local funds, like bond issues,etc., pay for facilities and renovations. Property taxes do generate revenue, but not enough to run a $100 Million operation....think about it....

The Federal Government has, (or used to have before the "C" student was selected) a vested interest in ensuring and promoting quality education. It's the one thing that I just can't seem to understand with the "so-called" compassionate conservatives. Education is an investment that produces great returns. It is just as vital to national and economic security as an aircraft carrier. Public education improves peoples lives, it reduces crime, it provides the Bill Gates and the Sam Waltons of this world with a qualified work-force for their businesses.

What * has done is to drain the federal coffers under the guise of a "tax-cut". Yeah it is some "tax-cut" when I save $300 in taxes and pay $600 for my children to participate in sports, or other extra-curricular activities. This is turn dries up federal money that could be used to help schools. For every single federal dollar that is not available to the states, the states have to cut that much in their services, and the localities have to cut their services.

So yeah, big effing deal. Normal folks get a $300 to $600 tax-cut, but our costs for everything from automobile registration, to gas, to water and sewage service, to electricity, to property taxes, etc goes up.

Bush's tax (service)-cut has cost me over $1200 a year. Figure it our yourself.

I see my students paying beaucoup bucks to play sports and other extra-curricular activities. A free public education is hardly free anymore thanks to elitists who want to undermine democracy. A strong middle class is what made America great. And a great public school system is part of what created a strong middle class. Those of us in education have long seen through the lies of Bush's "No Child Left Behind". We know he really wants to undermine public ed and put in vouchers, the Republican sacred cow....