Why Do We Get Laid Off If they are Interviewing More Teachers?

Question

I am a first year teacher who just got laid off. In fact, several other teachers at my school were too. Why, then, is our principal interviewing teachers for positions? They said we were laid off because we are temporary employees "holding positions for other teachers in the district."

Answer 1

Yea, welcome to screwed up school boards.  Its like that almost everywhere...until you are tenured, you're positions are never guaranteed.  Someone who is tenured might want to be transferred to your school and boop!!!  You're out and they are in.  It really stinks.

Answer 2

It's an administrative tool to keep you from building consecutive years as a teacher needed to gain tenure status.  Adminstrators have to manage the number of teachers they can simply let go for cost-cutting measures and they lose that control once you have tenure/seniority and stricter union rules begin to apply.  

It also allows them to keep you in that zone of hiring/firing that allows them to let you go without a basis.  Once you are tenured, they can only terminate you "for cause."  So marginal teachers will be "rifted" so that they can keep them in a firing zone that doesn't give union protection.

It's a crappy situation, but an understandable one from a management perspective.  It's the only way management can keep the unions from exerting too much control.

I'm not pro/con on the issue.  I've been on all sides of the issue and have practiced law in this field (school law).  

Best wishes to you in the future.  Hope you are invited back to teach again next year.  We need the energy/idealism of young teachers!

Answer 3

Ouch that must have been dissappionting. the harsh reality is that some principals use the "new teacher" as the scapegoat for testing irregularities and low scores.  If this is the case you deserve to be in a better school district that respects thier teachers. Find a job elsewhere :) Good Luck.