Allow me to vent
 

I just need some space to rant and let off some steam. As some of you know, I was furloughed from my job 3 weeks ago as a special education teacher. I just had acquired tenure in the district, built up the program from basically scratch, and was let go because of an enormous amount of cuts in the district that initially happened in early July, but because they screwed up the seniority list, I got bumped by one spot. 3 years of sterling evaluations and the best I got was a voicemail from the superintendent saying I didn't have a job anymore.

I had an interview at another district 2 weeks ago and it went well. They had called my principal that was at my old school and they told him it was between me and another teacher I worked with that was furloughed. The district ended up making their decision based on the fact that this teacher also coached field hockey.

This was the absolute worst ****ing time ever for me to get laid off. Just built a new house, just had a ton of concrete work done at the house just a week before the call. They let me go 3 weeks before the year started, which means all the jobs have basically dried up.

I'm just beyond frustrated and angry. The union is doing next to nothing to get jobs back. I've requested a grievance about the fact they had 2 lottery drawings my initial year. The first drawing I was 4th highest on the list. The 2nd drawing, I was 15th. I also was hired for elementary and they moved me to high school a week before the year started. The lady I beat out for the elementary job, who was only hired after I got moved, is higher than me on the seniority list. My union head doesn't seem to really care about that.

I went to clean out my classroom yesterday and it's amazing how cold people can be. Some people I was really nice to just wouldn't even acknowledge me even though I wasn't let go because of any doing of my own. It just pissed me off to be treated like a bastard stepchild.

Even if I do get a teaching job elsewhere, I'm likely looking at 10-15k paycut.

I'm just really angry and needed to vent tonight.


***UPDATE***

I was called back by the superintendent of the district that furloughed me and they have a long-term sped position available until the end of the year. I accepted it. I go back to my full pay with benefits. While I'm hopeful that a full-time position will present itself, this gives me some security and flexibility.

I'm excited.

**2ND UPDATE****

Well, the arbitration ruling finally came down, and the teacher's union won on all counts. The district illegally furloughed all 32 teachers and now have to give us back pay and benefits for the entire school year as well as return us to our previous positions. District sent me a letter stating my reinstatement and I have to go to a meeting at 8 AM on Friday.

They might still appeal, but it's a good feeling.

Forward your OP here

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/su...s-and-comments

Oh and be sure to ask when and where you can pick up your bailout money.

Sucks bro. Keep your head up.



Hope everything works out for ya. Wife is a teacher, it's a tough time for you guys right now.

All I can say is good luck, keep your head up, and if you keep doing the right thing, it will come back around for you.

I'd rather send it to that one who sucks the penis Gov of Pennsylvania, who refuses to tax the oil companies that come here, but has cut education funding by considerable amounts. Oh yeah, the same guy who took kickbacks from the Second Mile Foundation.

If that piece of shit is still in office in 2 years, I'm moving to another state to teach.

Sorry to hear, Bad Guy. Life punches us in the gut sometimes, and it looks like Life saw you at Applebee's with Life's girlfriend and decided to punch with unnecessary vigor.

Hang in there, though. I'm confident that you'll figure out a way to get by, and most likely the school layoffs are temporary.

Thanks man. I'm confident I'll get a break, and will be fine eventually, but I just hate the fact that my world has been flipped.

Oh, I also forgot to rant about how the administrators in the district are getting their 4% pay raises. It's good to know that a district that's apparently having declining enrollment, and just cut 30% of their teachers needs to have an assistant superintendent and an assistant to the assistant superintendent.

Thats bullshit.

And its one of the reasons I despise unions. Merit doesn't mean shit to them. Its all about how long you've there. You could be the biggest piece of shit worker/teacher/whaterever, and as long as you've been there one day longer than the next guy, you're job is safe.

Also, its pretty f***ed up that they waited til 3 weeks before the school year.

Bullshit that we keep laying off good teachers from schools. We need teachers, our education is bad and we need good teachers.



Anyway, like I said, keep your head up.

Also, my mother ****ing furlough paperwork is all dated July 16. I didn't get a phone call until July 27th. 11 days would have made a ton of difference as 5 special ed. jobs close to me were all filled at that time.

Not one of the ****ing union reps were furloughed. However, if one was, you can bet your ass they'd be moving like their ass was on fire.

The main positive is it's looking like I'll be a stay at home dad for a while. My wife is heading back to work. I'll really cherish spending all of my time with my 3-year old.

Sorry for your luck, Frank. I hope something good happens for you quickly. You going to be paying union dues at your next gig?

For sure. Enjoy that.



My wife is the bread winner right now, while I finish up Dental School. Just keep your head up and things will turn around for ya.

The unions have no problem taking your money. But when you truly need them, they'll tell you to go f*** yourself.

it won't be too long before some R's come in here and tell you that you are entitled and lazy. But that sucks dude, sounds like some bullshit.

Highly unlikely unless I end up at a district that's union has a solid rep.

The kicker is these ****ers want us to pay our dues while we are furloughed. I told them to **** off and that all my issues happened when I was a full paying member so they have to support me.

I added up the numbers. If I end up working at my job for 30 years.....I will have paid almost $11,000 in Union Dues. That's ****ing stupid.

People in power never punish themselves. I know of a county government in Colorado (Adams County) where corruption has cost taxpayers literally tens of millions of dollars, but the people in charge continue to give each other raises and promotions. It's sickening.

I'm considering Canadian citizenship if a certain someone is reelected in Nov.

Seriously though, I just started working fulltime just 3 months ago with nearly 2 years grabbing whatever I could to keep afloat (barely). I'm getting paid more now to deliver drugs than I did working IT, figure that one out!

Vent away, BG! You have been put through a lot of BS and you can't keep that bottled up.

I know how you feel, (in a way). When Gonzo got laid off, we went into panic mode. Just stay focused on your goals and you will achieve them in time.

As far as the admins getting a raise... that makes absolutely no damn sense! :mad:

I wish you the best!

That's how it is around here too. They cut 30-40 jobs and the suits get their fat raises on already significant salaries. What I don't understand though, is why do we need $300 per sqft schools? Why do 14 year old kids need $8,000 cameras to learn photography? Hell, when I went to school we learned photography by bringing mom & dad's camera to school. Schools are an out of control expense that keeps sucking tax dollars and they're spending more on everything except the people who deserve it the most.

Do you plan on getting on the substituting lists? I imagine that could be a bit chaotic, however, with a young child.

Hope something comes up. I've heard of school districts in my state hiring right before school starts. It's rare, sure, but it wouldn't hurt to look.

Good luck.

I've been out of work since March.

The positive is when I had my son over the summer, we hung out all day, everyday.

Those times are priceless.

The silver lining in this dark cloud...

Now everybody needs 1:1 computer programs. But the administration for schools is a serious, usually unjustifiable racket.

Does anyone think a single person with a PhD in Education Administration can do much for a district? More than 3 or 4 good teachers can?

I'm skeptical. I've heard a lot of stories, though, and almost entirely from the teacher pov.

As sickening as this makes me right now, I would get more money collecting than I could subbing.

If a long term job comes up, then I'd absolutely apply.

The only good thing is, if the district realizes they have to hire teachers, they have to call me first.

Or your friend in Wisconsin Paul Ryan. I hear he loves teachers and unions. I'd give him a call right away.

Bummer. I hope you are able to re-negotiate something with the new house.

Haven't contacted the bank yet to discuss that. We are pretty safe for about 3 months paying the mortgage. without any additional income.

With my wife working and what I can get collecting for a few months, we should be ok.

He's not my friend. I have no affiliations with either side. IMO they're all out of touch.

I have a teacher that works for me that was laid off, he couldn't be happier since he left the profession. He also has a young (2 year old) son and feels as if the change in direction did him good. Hang in there bro, and pray a lot as it DOES help! ;)

I guarantee that when you're 90 and on your deathbed, the time with your three-year-old will be what you remember. And, by the way, what your three-year-old remembers.

Hang in there.

More positives:

- No worthless teacher meetings to start your days off
- Doing special education analysis and experiments with chiefsplanet posters
- Not having to worry about living that dream of showing up to school in just your briefs
- Not dealing with spoiled kids whose parents didn't hit them enough

LMAO

Bye!

The field hockey part and the 4% administrator raise part would be the ****ing crazy mother**** you angles in all of this.

Good luck bad guy! If nothing comes up for awhile enjoy the time with your child. Who knows maybe it will be for the best!

That's BS there.

The whole situation seems like complete BS. Good luck to you. If nothing else enjoy this time with your young one.

This is the part I don't get. My district's business runs July 1 through June 30. Our budget has to be written and approved by the board before June 30 each year. The school year before last we had a budget shortfall where 10 teachers were going to be let go. Our union, school board, and super made sacrifices (we took a pay freeze) to help these people out but we had to make all decisions before June 30 at the latest. Assuming most districts operate the same way, I don't see how they can come to you so late in the summer and let you go.

Also, maybe I misunderstood this, but I was told that in PA a school board can't let a teacher go as a cost cutting measure, they have to cut an entire program. One of the big deals here was that they were going to get rid of our middle school chorus teacher and to do so they were cutting middle school chorus. Are they cutting your program?

They just did layoffs where I work. Kind of crazy. People that were laid off have the option of "bumping" people that are on their original probation (6 months).

That would suck taint.

I have went through this in recent years myself, its damn tough. You experience a huge array of emotions. Vent all you need, its good for you.

that sucks man. I hope you get back on your feet soon and I hope your time with your kid ends up making this all turn out for the better anyhow. I don't condone it, but sort of understand how people go postal.

Really sorry to read this OP, TBG.

It can be really maddening when you stop and think about the injustices here. But you have no control over those things. None of us do. So your choice to focus on the blessing of being there for your child and facing the future with courage is awesome.

You are a good guy, doing significant work. Keep your head up, and I just can't believe that something awesome won't pop up.

Sounds like you did a good job for the district, and likely nobody has anything against you.

What you're experiencing when you went to clean out your room was the I-cannot-face-suffering side of our culture. They're scared and they don't know what to say. Instead of looking you in the eye and talking to you, they'd rather clean that smartboard one more time.

You're fighting a battle they've been training for all their lives, except for when they're training for their next half marathon.

Organize a 10k for your situation. They might come a runnin.

Hope you find a good fit somewhere. Maybe some teacher will go on IR and you'll get a call?

Any chance of teaching in a private school?

Very sorry to hear this. SED teachers have a special place in our society IMHO. Hang in there; I hope you don't give up your vocation. There are kids that need you.

Its part of the Hope and Change plan.

You have support of people on here and atleast you are venting here.

Hang in there. Will be hoping for some positive news from you soon.

I release! I let go! I coast along with my hands off the controls. I breathe freely without constraints. My energy flows without care alongside the wayward winds.

My wife is a special ed teacher. it helps with me i think

Totally his fault that TBG's district has declining enrollment. Commandant Obama should mandate a set amount of children and limit population mobility. ;)

Keep the DC bullshit the **** out of this thread. Some people just can't ****ing help themselves.

TBG, hang in there. I like to think things happen for a reason. It sounds like you are passionate about what you do and that you are good at it and in the end, that is all that matters.

That really sucks. I used to be married to a Special Education teacher (opens door for everyone) and I'm not so fond of HER anymore I have a ton of respect for the profession.

Hang in there and good luck.

Cobbler's children or something like that...

Hang in there TBG, thinks will break your way....

good thoughts headed your way

Keep your head up bud.

Hopefully you can find something. But the reality is that the only thing you can do is keep on and do the best you can. That's all there is to do.

In other news, I'm pretty sure my wife is God's sister. I'm ****ing her and that dude ****ing hates my ass. It's all I can think of.

Frank....it's s shame that a good guy like you gets cut in favor of someone who is probably just "pulling down a paycheck". Keep your head up man...there is something for you. Like I am sure others on here will do for you, we will keep you in our thoughts.

This kind of political bullcrap is why I am trying to convince my daughter to graduate HS early. It's not only school politics that are played with how teachers are retained, it's also how the teachers play the students. It's no longer how truly talented the student is, it's how much money your parents kick in to the school coffers that rules where your kid places. Or where the parents are in the local social strata of the community.

:shake: Take this to DC.

It always amazes me the money this country spends on useless research projects, putting a rover on Mars or bailing out big business. How about putting some money towards helping local school districts? We are already ass loads in debt, what's a little more.

Sorry to hear about you misfortune. Hope you land on your feet soon.

No, I'm definitely not giving up. I worked hard to get all of my sterling evaluations and will get a job (hopefully soon) with a lucky district.

That's just the clever excuse the administration is using. Down 5% doesn't equal a 30% staff reduction. They want to build their fund balance for next year and the year after, but the administration get their huge salaries, 4% pay increases. Makes no sense. The teachers even took pay freezes last year with the agreement that there would be no furloughs until a new deal could be reached. The district clearly broke the agreement since there's no new contract. Hopefully an arbitrator sees it that way.

Obama really had little to do with this. The bastard gov. of PA is the main one to blame. Won't tax oil companies that are making millions here, but will take tons away from education.

I'm sorry to hear this Frank.

The way the teachers are treated is shitty too. A lot are underpaid and the bad ones are treated just as good as the best.

What kills me in education are the amount of bureaucrats, paper pushers, and "curriculum administrators" being hired. Our district's CIAA (Curriciulum Instruction Assessment and Alignment) "department" just keeps swelling in numbers year after year. Nevermind that these people have ZERO contact with students. They sit in meetings and "brainstorm" the majority of the time. They're completely out of touch, and it seems their primary job is to justify their jobs.

But yeah, sorry, TBG. I'm lucky to be in a well-funded district and have a solid position there, but a lot of good teachers are getting screwed right now.

Damn that sucks. I doubt you'll be unemployed for long.

Frank i'm pulling for you and i understand they cut my hours at work and then blame me for it.

Isn't that the very nature of a bureaucracy?

Yup. Pretty much. It's why I'm getting closer and closer to wanting to just abolish the damned DofEd. Education has become the next great governmental money grab. They realize that there's tons to be made, so all the government "servants" (who like to rotate from consulting jobs to government jobs and back) are now loving the whole "ed reform" movement. The amount of money that's being put into tests to show what's "broken" about our education system is equaled only by the amount of money (amazingly directed to the same people doing the testing) who are selling programs to "fix" it.

Damn, so Skip finally made that call, eh?

-trying to add a hair of comic relief-

Solid joke.

Billay can still use you

B-I-N-G-O

They gave the assistant superintendent 130k a year to sit on her ass and call curriculum meetings. She's supposed to supervise staff. My observation this year was 3 minutes from the door way and she didn't want to come in my room because she said she had some uncomfortable experiences with some of my ED kids.

It's hilarious the head of the school board is a guy who was fired from the district as a custodian because he was stealing cleaning supplies every day and got caught.

Now, he's making the most important decisions for the district.

Makes no ****ing sense.

No chance in the private sector?

Not in my area. That's even more corrupt than the school districts.

Sorry to hear TBG, in Missouri a tenured teacher who is let go because of cuts has to be the first person they hire back when a spot opens up that they are certified for. Doesn't matter if its in same area they were in or not. If they are certified they must be offered the job first. Hope your state has something like that in place.

I was going to suggest Catholic schools, but then I realized that they probably don't have much demand for special education teachers.

Ahhh, the beauty of democracy. Or something like that.

How in the blue fuck does that happen? Local elections I would assume? Sorry for your plight man, can't imagine working for such a broked!ck organization. Wow.