Wednesday, February 28, 2001
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Wednesday, February 28, 2001 |
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Teacher shortage seen; board approves 54 new slots By DAVE
HAMRICK
It's going to be a tough year for teacher recruitment, Fayette educators believe. Consider the fact that in previous years the Fayette School System's job fairs have drawn around 45 applicants and this year's fair drew only 16, and add to it the fact that the Board of Education Monday night approved 54 new positions, and the picture is bleak. "It is going to be a lean year," said Dr. John DeCotis, superintendent of schools, during Monday's monthly board meeting. "There's a lot of competition out there" for teachers. The board approved hiring 46 new regular classroom teachers and eight new special education teachers, needed to meet state-required teacher/pupil ratios of one to 19 in kindergarten through third grade, one to 24 in grades four to eight and one to 23.5 in high school. That's in addition to recruiting to fill vacant positions. Estimated cost of the new hires will be $2.5 million, said finance director Jim Stephens. Hiring for next year will begin right away, said DeCotis, with the added cost to be built into the budget. Meanwhile, the prospect of a teacher shortage has the school board interested in putting a new "fair dismissal" policy on a fast track. Although new items introduced at one month's business meeting are usually put on the table for a full month, board members said Monday they want the fair dismissal policy on the agenda for their work session March 5. "This will serve as an exceptional benefit for recruiting and attracting teachers," said Karen Bullock of the Fayette County Association of Educators in presenting the proposed policy. Under the proposal, new teachers would be granted "quality teacher" status after signing a contract for a fourth consecutive year. Then those teachers would be entitled to renewal of their contracts unless there is just cause for non-renewal. The board would have to notify a teacher by April 15 of his or her third full year of employment to avoid attainment of the protected status. In that case, the teacher would be on probation, and the administrator involved would be required to develop an improvement plan to help that teacher achieve quality status. Once that status is achieved, the teacher would be entitled to a series of notices and hearings if the board intends to end his or her contract. "The classroom teacher is the most important person in the entire educational system," said Bullock in urging the board to consider the proposal. If enacted, the policy would affect 114 teachers currently employed, she said.
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