Laid Off and Almost Back Again, But What Next?

On Friday, June 7, the School District of Philadelphia mailed layoff notices to 3,783 employees. That afternoon, one of my colleagues used our school email list to suggest that teachers offer to freeze wages next year in order to provide money to save some of these jobs. I replied to the list that I did not think that was a good idea. My primary logic was that there would be nothing to stop the district from coming to us again next year and making the same threat, but I did not want to get into a detailed discussion on a school district email list. I figured I would take the weekend, write up my thoughts on the blog, and then share them with my colleagues.

On Saturday, June 8, this became a moot point when I went to my mailbox and found out that I was one of the 3.783.

I am fortunate in that my layoff has since been rescinded, although the story’s not over yet. And I don’t want to overdramatize my situation. Thousands of employees, students, and families are going to be affected by the resolution of this funding crisis, and in the big picture that is far more significant than one person’s on-again off-again job status. But that big picture is made up of all of the individual stories, which the website Faces of the Layoffs is doing such an effective job of showing. So I figure it is worth it to share my story and think about where we go next.

I will say I am proud of myself that I did not change my mind about the idea of a wage-freeze petition. I did not want my colleagues, who already make so many sacrifices in the course of doing their jobs, to have to bear the responsibility for saving my job. They are professionals, who do an essential job and deserve to be compensated accordingly. My colleagues are not the state legislators who cut hundreds of millions of dollars from education funding over the last two years. My colleagues are not the city officials who have proven unable to collect delinquent property taxes that should have been supporting the district. My colleagues are not the school board members who failed to exercise oversight and awarded lavish contracts to district administrators. So why should they be the people responsible for cleaning up the mess made by those decisions?

That does not mean I do not think teachers should be willing to make a sacrifice to improve conditions. I just have a different idea of what that sacrifice should be. Before, during, and after my layoff, I believed that if the city and state government did not fix the situation, then the teachers of the district should go on strike when the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers’ contract expires this summer. Without secretaries, counselors, and support staff, our schools simply can not provide our students with the environment and the resources that they need. The district and the PFT have recognized this in the past by, for example, requiring a certain number of counselors in the buildings.

If the district can not or will not provide this basic minimum level of support, then I think that teachers should refuse to cooperate. We should not help the district try to limp along. We should not validate the idea that we can somehow do “more with less,” as though we had been withholding something that we can now pull out of reserve. We should stand up for and with our students, and demand that they have the opportunity to get the education that they deserve.

I hope it doesn’t actually come to that. I hope that we are in the process of seeing the budget theater play out over the next week or two, and that many of these layoffs and cuts will be reversed before we get too far into July. But even if they are, damage has been done, and that damage needs to be repaired.

From the moment I got my layoff letter, some of my energy had to be diverted into thinking about my immediate future. My family relies on my job for our health insurance, so even if I had money saved up for the summer, I would need to figure out how to replace that insurance. (It’s one thing to go without health insurance when you’re a single 22-year-old doctoral student. At 37 with a wife and daughter, it’s not an option.) I had to start looking at other jobs and other districts, even thinking about moving. Meanwhile, students would talk to me about next year, and I had to be as noncommittal as I could, because I did not want to make a fuss if I could get back, but I did not want to lie either.

I had to spend time working through the paperwork to make sure the district knew about my second certification in English. I had made the mistake of thinking that when the state approved my certification, it would also be reflected in the district’s records. Fortunately, with a lot of help from people in the district office, I got that paperwork sorted out, but that took time. Once the paperwork was processed and my second certification was on record, my layoff was rescinded. My overwhelming feeling was relief, but I also tried to feel empathy for the people who are still waiting to hear that news. I hope that there is not a teacher somewhere in the district who got a layoff letter this week to take my place on the list, and if there is I hope that person finds a path to security quickly. And as all of this was going on, I had to read newspaper editorials and cartoons arguing that the teachers had to find a way to solve this mess, which seemed so backward I wanted to scream. I still gave my best every day, but teaching is a job that requires concentration and energy. Anything that pulls you in a different direction makes the job harder.

And I am one of the lucky ones. I still have a job, although as I write this it is unclear whether or not I will be able to return to Parkway Center City, where I have taught for four years. At my daughter’s school, at least one English teacher has had to give up his position, at least temporarily, in spite of all that he does in and out of the classroom. My daughter’s music teacher, who has conducted the school choir for years, chose to retire in the hope of saving someone else’s job. And while that is noble and laudable, how many future students have now lost the opportunity to benefit from his years of experience? How many other teachers have decided to leave a district that seems not to value them? How many of us will come back in September and spend the year waiting for the shoe to drop once again? How many young adults will spend the summer checking out real estate listings in suburban districts because they can not take the uncertainty?

This can not go on, and yet, unless we the citizens reflect and chance, it will go on. And then where will we end up?

About Dave Thomer

Born and raised in Philadelphia. Studied philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, where I made many great friends and met my wonderful wife. We moved back to Philadelphia, where I studied philosophy some more and became a teacher. Online and off, I'm looking for ways that we can be better citizens and build stronger communities.

June 23, 2013 @ 12:47 pm

Education