Submission by City Honors Fosdick Masten Park Foundation:
Last week, over 40 Buffalo Public Schools math and science teachers
were given layoff notices. The district has chosen this avenue as one
way to cut back on costs and lessen the district’s deficit. It has no
choice but to follow New York State Education Law which basically
states that the last to be hired are the first to be “fired.” This
group of teachers has only been in the district a year or two and
represent some of the most talented hiring the district has done to
date.
Specifically, two of those teachers are math teachers at
City Honors School and they represent 1/3 of the math department at the
school.
New York State law does not take into consideration that
one of them teaches in the IB Diploma Program at City Honors and that
the district has invested over $4000 in his training. Or that he had
the best IB results of any IB teacher in the school in 2010. Or that
both have been trained and are voluntary IB extended essay advisors to
several students and that those students will be at distinct
disadvantage without their help. Or that the other has also helped her
students improve their performance in math, or that she stays after
school to tutor students without compensation. It doesn’t matter that
both of them come to school early and stay late – not because they have
to – but because they became educators due to the passion they have for
teaching and helping children learn.
The other 40+ teachers are equally dedicated to the students at their schools.
The
law only looks as these two teachers and their 40+ colleagues as
employees who were hired more recently than other teachers and
therefore must be laid off.
After many discussions with BPS
administrators, local leaders, and politicians, we have found out that
the only way to save the jobs of some or all of these teachers is to
convince Governor Paterson to do either, or both. of two actions. The
first is for him to immediately release the money coming from the
federal government for education aid; money that was specifically given
to save teachers jobs. The second is to immediately call a special
session to pass a law that reinstates the charter school funding cap
that has been in place for several years (which was not passed only
because it was tied to a funding bill that was not approved due to
political wrangling).
The district would receive between $8-16
million (depending on the funding formula) through the release of
federal monies and $11 million through the reinstatement of the charter
school cap.
So. PLEASE contact Governor Paterson and tell him to
save our teachers by taking the time to make sure the funding gets to
the district NOW and not after it is too late. The link for how to
contact him is here.
Additionally,
Assemblyman Sam Hoyt recently wrote a letter to the governor regarding
this issue. The press release can be accessed here.
Thank
you for any help you can provide in our quest to keep these two
fantastic teachers at City Honors and the 40+ other new hires where
they belong – in the classroom helping our children learn!