Question for school district employees

[McKelly]

This question is for more for support staff, but other school district employees might know as well. When do you know if you have a job for the following school year? Do you know before the end of this school year if you have a job the following year, or do they let you know a couple of weeks before school starts? I am a teacher's aide, who was laid off last year, but called back mid-year, am looking at lay off again next year, but they can't tell me until a couple of weeks before school, don't know if that's normal practice or not.......just curious. It's difficult to plan for and I was just curious if this was the norm?

 

[daughtersrus]

This question is for more for support staff, but other school district employees might know as well. When do you know if you have a job for the following school year? Do you know before the end of this school year if you have a job the following year, or do they let you know a couple of weeks before school starts? I am a teacher's aide, who was laid off last year, but called back mid-year, am looking at lay off again next year, but they can't tell me until a couple of weeks before school, don't know if that's normal practice or not.......just curious. It's difficult to plan for and I was just curious of this was the norm?

I think that it depends on the school district that you work for. In our district, the para pros are under the AFT contract. The office staff, food service works and transportation departments are all under union contracts as well. The contracts spell out when employees need to be notified and what the procedure is for layoff and callbacks.

 

[McKelly]

Okay, sounds like I need to get my hands on a union contract. I have asked several other paras and they have no idea..........

Our contract is under negotiation right now, sounds like something that should be in there, earlier notice of lay offs, IMHO. I know the school district next door has already notified their employees of lay offs.

 

[phorsenuf]

I was given a new contract to sign before the end of the school year. Usually in June. If you don't get a new one, then no job for the following year.

 

[MrsPete]

As a general rule of thumb, we know where we stand when we leave for the summer.

I'm a tenured teacher with 17 years of experience. They send out a form every year asking what each of us plans to do next year, and unless I say that I plan to retire, move, whatever, the assumption is that I'm coming back. No one even talks to me about it. The assumpton is that IF I were moving away, I would've told my principal already. (And I would've.)

New teachers are usually asked at their end-of-the-year summative evaluation what they hope to do (because new teachers tend to move around more frequently). IF their position isn't going to be available the next year, someone from the office calls them in and lets them know that . . . this generally happens mid to late May.

A few unfortunate souls -- always the newest, the lowest on the totum pole -- are told that their job is somewhat in limbo. Usually they get an answer (sometimes, it's "Yes, we have a position for you here next year" or "We don't have a job for you, but such-and-such school down the road has an opening.") by the end of the school year. A teacher who's proven herself worthy is USUALLY able to find something -- even now. It might not be teaching just what she wants, and it might not be at THE SCHOOL where she wants to be. Sometimes these people get an answer mid-summer.

It's rare that anyone has to wait literally 'til the weeks before school starts.

 

[Jeafl]

At our school the parapros are not union.

It seems like it is different every year, which makes me crazy. I just found out yesterday that I will have a job next year, because I had my yearly evaluation and the principal asked me if I would consider being with the same kid again next year. From that I assume I will have a job.

Because I am special ed, a lot depends on final numbers of students requiring one-on-one assistance. Since parents don't always get their information in on time, they may not know until sometime during the summer.

Not always knowing in advance is probably the hardest part of the job, so I sympathize with you.

 

[MI mom of 3]

I work as a para in a middle school. We have a contract but that does not guarantee our jobs. If the number of special ed kids goes down the district has the option of not bringing you back. (by seniority, of course)

At the end of the year we get a "reasonable assurance" letter. It just says that unless things change we will be back....they could change your building, grade level, etc. We know for sure we are coming back when we are invited to the welcome back breakfast in late August.

 

[HsvTeacher]

In Alabama, nontenured faculty and staff must be notified by the end of the last school day. Out of courtesy, our superintendent lets everyone who is going to be laid off know as soon as our projected enrollment numbers are in, which was last week for our system. Our pink slips were delivered on Friday.

 

[MM27]

I just posted this on another thread too. In NJ, non-tenured teachers have to be notified by May 15th if they are being offered a contract for the following school year. If they are not notified one way or the other, they are considered to be rehired.

My district is laying off people this year due to budget cuts and the Superintendent said he will personally meet with those people by April 26th.

 

[simba20]

In Georgia it used to be that letters of intent for teacehrs were given out in Jan/Feb (to know if a teacher intended on coming back). Contracts went out in March/April.

However, now, due to budget cuts the state legislature -- lastyear -- allowed the contract deadline (the time when schools hand out contracts for the next year to be signed) to go until May 15th. So contracts will not come out until the middle of May and school ends on the 24th....so basically, yeah, they have moved things until the end of the year. Teachers are told though, if they are coming back or being let go before contracts come out. I don;t know if the same is done for para-pros.

 

[ryka]

I am a Para. We really don't find out until we receive a letter in the mail a couple of weeks before school starts. Now most of us already know if we will be back or not from our reviews before school ends but it isn't official until you get your letter in the mail.

 

[barkley]

it's interesting how it varies place to place, and even within the same school districts depending on an employee's status/union affiliation.

i spoke with a friend recently she and her dh work for the identical district. he's considered "support" b/c he's a counselor, she's considered "support' b/c she's some type of speech person but in a different union than her dh.

last year her dh and almost all other support staff knew right before the end of the school year but SHE and the other support staffers she works with were exempted from consideration b/c apparantly their funding is on a 2 year cycle vs. a 1 year (something to do with how the district's special ed is set up) and they were still in year 1. this year she said it's a mess with everyone. apparantly it's a contract renegotiation year for a few of the big unions, and one of the big points is clarifying how mandatory furloughs will ultimatly impact pensions, so depending on which way it goes there may be a significant exodus of teachers and support staffers who are retirement eligibile and may opt to leave earlier than they had planned vs. later with reduced pensions. the district and the unions are trying to get everything hammered out as we speak so they can poll their staff and determine where vacancies will be-that way they can look to the budget and idealy they can avoid any layoffs.