My name is Paul Karnstedt. I’m a science teacher at LHS, and I am the secretary of the D128 Federation of Teachers. Typically, the teachers’ Union executive board speaks during our scheduled slot at the general School Board meetings; however, the importance of this message to our Union is too urgent to wait another week.
At this committee meeting, you will receive the annual staffing report from district administration. Just last Wednesday, our Union president, Monica Caldicott, was informed that Admin plans to lay off multiple teachers and to reduce several full-time teachers, including one tenured teacher with 5 years of experience, to part-time positions. Overall, 9.7 full-time equivalent, or FTE, could be eliminated from the general classroom setting. This is an unprecedented number. We have asked, but have received no answer to the question, “when was the last time a D128 tenured teacher was laid off?” It will be pointed out to you that 6.0 FTE of these cuts were repurposed out of the category of “classroom FTE” into different categories of FTE, saving some jobs, but that does not change the impact these cuts make on our classrooms.
We have started to dig into the numbers that were sent to D128 staff at 11 p.m. Wednesday, and these decisions would cut deep into our staff. We have been told by Admin that the Board – YOU – expects FTE to decrease along with enrollment. Classroom FTE was cut by nearly 5% in this proposed staffing report, and yet our course requests and enrollment are only trending around a 2% decrease. This is not a staffing decrease along with enrollment; that is decreasing past enrollment. If you look at the 8 year overall trend, we have a very similar, even slightly higher number of course requests since 8 years ago, but over 16 less classroom FTE. Most of the FTE loss has occurred in the last 4 years, when many administrative positions were created.
Our District just recommended the largest cut of classroom FTE in the last 8 years according to the statistics you will see tonight. In January, we presented data to you that showed that the number of classes over optimum class size have increased, as FTE has decreased. We encouraged you to ask questions about why this is. We told you FTE cuts had gone too far. Two months later, we are seeing unprecedented cuts in FTE that outpace the decrease in enrollment. It will follow that there will be even more classes above optimum next year. Do we really intend to release or reduce excellent teachers and further exacerbate this large class problem?
It is important to point out that we hire excellent teachers in D128 who come with experience and prove their excellence elsewhere before coming here. If you were a veteran teacher, why would you leave a good job elsewhere, and put your family at risk, to work for an employer that will treat you as a 1-year filler and release you in a cost-cutting measure? If you are a young teacher who is watching your colleagues get released, why would you serve on a district committee, volunteer for a district initiative, or try an innovative teaching method when you may not be around to see any long–term results?
This morning, we sent a list of clarifying questions to Admin. We will return to deliver a more detailed message at your Monday, March 18 board meeting, as we scramble to deal with this 11th hour shock. In the meantime, we hope to hear many questions and deep discussion of this staffing plan before it is up for approval next week.