[school-discuss] layoffs begin in jefferson parish

[mike eschman <meschman@engima.com>]

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East Jefferson News

Budget aftershocks hit on eve of classes

Assistants laid off, teachers switch schools

08/17/02

By Mark Waller
East Jefferson bureau/The Times-Picayune

Layoff notices went out to 80 teacher assistants in Jefferson Parish public 
schools on Thursday. On Friday, about 35 certified teachers were moved to 
different schools. More than 200 noncertified teachers are still waiting to 
hear whether they will be called back to work.

And classes start in two days.

Budget cuts that the School Board approved in the past two weeks are adding an 
element of uncertainty to the opening of the 2002-03 academic year. 
Principals and other administrators, however, say everything should be ready 
by the time children arrive.

"It is crazy," said Joseph Moscona, principal of Ella Dolhonde Elementary 
School in Metairie. "But it's all right. We're going to get through it."

Monday is the first day of class in Jefferson's public schools and many of its 
private schools.

The most noticeable cuts in public schools likely will be a slight rise in 
class sizes in upper grades, the combination of classes for emotionally 
disturbed students with other special education students and a reduction in 
teacher and teacher assistant jobs for students learning to speak English.

The board made the moves, included in a slate of more than $9 million in 
spending cuts, to balance its budget in the face of rising costs, especially 
for employee health insurance.

At Truman Middle School in Marrero, the result is one fewer regular education 
teacher and two fewer special ed teachers. So as the student population is 
divided among fewer faculty members, classes get larger.

That's a concern, Principal Patricia Zeringue said, because more students 
create more work for teachers who already are under pressure to help students 
improve scores on state-required standardized tests.

But in other ways, Zeringue said, the cuts could have a bright side. She said 
mixing different types of special ed students could help those who are 
struggling academically by introducing them to higher-performing students.

"I think it's going to have a positive effect," Zeringue said. "I think when 
we put the kids together, and you have high expectations, children will 
really reach those expectations."

But some parents of special ed students worry about discipline problems in the 
merged classes.

Alice Birney Elementary School in Metairie is feeling the cuts less in special 
ed than in instruction for children whose first language is something other 
than English. The school had two of those English teachers last year but is 
losing one.

Yet more than 50 students were signed up for the classes as of Thursday, 
Principal Milton Skorlich said, creating a potentially overwhelming work load 
for the remaining teacher.

"I'm laughing right now," Skorlich said. "I can't believe it. It's just 
unbelievable. I'm hoping it's wrong."

Skorlich planned to double-check the numbers. If the initial enrollment 
figures prove to be correct, he said he will work out a plan with the teacher 
and other faculty members on how to serve those students.

Some job shuffling was done with a small fair on Friday where certified 
teachers whose old positions are being eliminated went to the school system's 
central office to pick from vacancies or from jobs previously filled by 
noncertified teachers.

"It was a little tense," said Joe Potts, president of the Jefferson Federation 
of Teachers. He said the changes can be jarring for teachers who have long 
worked on one campus but now must move.

"It was not happy. But everybody kind of understood."

Teachers who have completed some requirements for certification will move into 
remaining vacancies as the school year gets under way. Other teachers who 
have completed no steps toward certification will be laid off.

Typically, the school system lays off those teachers every year, then hires 
them back as openings arise. The difference this year, personnel director 
Ronald Ceruti said, is that it could be much longer before they are called -- 
if ever.

Potts said many of those teachers are looking for jobs in other parishes or 
outside the education field.

Teacher assistants are also getting laid off, although with some possibility 
of returning because of generally high turnover in assistant positions, 
Ceruti said.

"I'm not expecting any difficulty when the kids return," he said. "Anybody 
who's been following what's going on knows the reasons."

. . . . . . .

Mark Waller can be reached at mwaller@timespicayune.com or (504) 883-7056.

© The Times-Picayune. Used with permission.