All members of the Detroit Federation of Teachers have received layoff notices. Administrators were served with non-renewal notices.
The Detroit Federation of Teachers consists of 5,466 members. There are 248 administrators in the district.
Emergency Financial Manager, Robert Bobb plans to revise union contracts in May. The notices are required under the collective bargaining agreement. The effective date for layoffs for the Detroit Federation of Teachers is at the end of the day on July 29.
Detroit Federation of Teachers Keith Johnson said the majority of layoff notices will be dismissed, especially in areas like math, science, foreign and bilingual languages, and computer technology.
This is the first time every member of the Detroit Federation of Teachers received layoff notices and the first time their contract has been threatened with termination.
In 2009, Bobb wanted the union to give up the process of hiring based on seniority to give administrators the power to hire and fire teachers despite their years of experience. The Detroit Federation of Teachers agreed to $90 million in concessions, but had to loan the school district $10,000.
Bobb is allowed to modify or terminate existing collective bargaining agreements. But he would have to wait 60 days, or until May 17.
Layoff and non-renewal notices don’t necessarily mean that everyone will lose their jobs. Last year, 2,000 teachers received layoff notices but by August most of the notices were dismissed. But, all teachers had to re-interview for their jobs.
I disagree with Keith Johnson. The majority of layoff notices won’t be dismissed due to the fact 45 schools are either being closed or converted to charter schools. Therefore when this happens less teachers and administrators will be needed in DPS. My mom is a teacher and my father is an assistant principal. I hate the fact that they have to re-interview for their jobs each year, especially my mom whose been teaching for 27 years. It’s just all wrong.
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