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Subscribe to RSSShe’s been called the best teacher in her city, and she may be out of a job.
Sacramento sixth grade teacher Michelle Apperson was recently named “Teacher of the Year” for her entire district. A pink slip from California’s cash-starved government followed the good news for the Sutterville Elementary School teacher of nine years, KXTV reported.
According to The Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento City Unified School district approved $28 million in budget cuts earlier this year. The district is bracing for a worst-case scenario that it will have to cut another $15 million if Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax hike initiative fails to make the grade with voters in November, the Bee reported.
"It hurts on a personal level because I really love what I do," Apperson told KXTV of losing her livelihood. "But professionally and politically or economically I get why it happens."
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A district spokesman told KXTV the teacher layoffs were based on seniority, not performance, and mandated by the state.
Apperson is reportedly no. 8 on a list of teachers to be rehired if her district regains its funding.
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Hey I know!!! how about let's get rid of a @!$%#ty teacher (because you know every school district in the United States has plenty of those) and keep the "teacher of the year"????? OH that's right... the teachers unions protect the suckie teachers!!!!! To bad every tom-DICK & harry (that can't make it in the field they want) ends up a teacher....and then the unions protect them!!!! THANKS FOR FLUSHING THE USA DOWN THE DRAIN!!!!
California:
You earned it! Electing Jerry Brown as Gov. was like putting a loaded gun to your head. You made your beds.
$43 million is a lot of budget to cut in education. Seems like the state government could stand to cut the budget some where else. Education doesn't need to be cut...any where.
Republicans, the Tea Party, and the anti-tax folk - killing education one teacher at a time. Here in Texas, we have $25 million annually (over 10 years) to support F1 racing. However, we can't afford an extra dollar for education. Bread and circuses, while the top 1% are like Nero watching this country burn.
JohnS77... Which is it? $25million annually or $250million annualized over ten years?
Oh, one additional question. How much tax revenue will that annual amount generate? Even if it's one dollar more, there is no loss to the state coffers.
You folks are too funny. The word "government" comes up and you come apart at the seams. My wife worked in the retail industry for years. Layoffs were always by seniority. My younger son's engineering firm has almost 80 structural engineers in his office. Now they have 35. Layoffs by seniority with a few exceptions due to unique skills (ability to speak Mandarin,only person able to do 3D modeling, etc.). Same with my older son's engineering firm. I worked in a non-union, private university. Layoffs were all by seniority.
By the way, are you all certain that this teacher is the "best" in her district? Awards are often given out because of popularity, political connections, family connections, money, or because simply,it is your turn.
I was thinking same as you when I read the comments, it's pretty common everywhere regardless of ownership structure to lay off by seniority, sometimes for obvious reasons including that the more senior the better they are at the job, and sometimes because it's just tradition in the business world. I do think the right (which I am a proud part of) has created this hair trigger negative response to any mention of Govt employee, maybe fairly in some cases but mostly unfairly. There are lazy people that never get fired in just about every job in this country I see it everyday everywhere I go. My guess based on experience is that 35% of the people in this country are doing 90% of the work, and that includes in Govt offices.
Spanky! One fewer American citizen who has a job . . .
But, hey, it's a new job opportunity for one of the upcoming 800,000 illegal immigrants who will be getting work visas . . .
Nothing beats change by fiat for destroying a country from within, really . . .
Really! :-o
Gotta love those union contracts.
The obvious solution is for Governor Moonbeam and his apostles to form a drum circle and chant "It's Arnold's fault."
"Yeah, and the private sector would never think of doing layoffs based on seniority...."
Actually, it is usually that way. When a corporation wants to cut back, one of the first places they look is at middle management. They save a lot more money cutting a 90K worker over a 50K worker.
Tom...but it all depends on how valuable the employee is, not seniority. If the $90K worker is overpaid,then yes they will cut them, but becoming management isn't solely based on seniority.
There have not been any public schools for a long time. NEA and their thug union good for nothing allows pedophiles to not be fired. DEA allows; dumbing down so everyone gets a A, anti Christian, pro homosexual, anti Republican, rewriting of history to suit their agenda.
Best way is homeschoool, choices for parents, and do away with the government socialist, politically correct indoctrination centers formerly public schools and get rid permanently of NEA and DEA
Most parents are also dumb as a stump.
winston-974642
There has been public schools around for quite sometime. Let's see... The catholic church hid pedophiles for years and its not run by a union. How does everyone in school get an "A". Maybe if more parents in this country actually spent time with their children, took away their 'right to a cell phone, computer, game system etc", the children may actually improve. Last time I checked, it's wrong to discriminate against someone because they are homosexual, but yes, we must protect heterosexual rights to discriminate. Anti Christian? Nope, its called AMENDMENT #1. We are tired of the christians right thrust their obtuse beliefs in our faces. Anti Republican? Republicans love schools as long as they don't hve to pay for them.
Maybe if teachers were paid more they would be republicans and indoctrinate the youth with something more to the right....
"Public employee employees do need protection from arbitrary whimsical employment decisions"
Why should my taxes pay for this benefit, when I don't enjoy it in the private sector?
Unions have rammed their agenda through the government: well-paid, secure jobs with good benefits. Well, guess what: the game is over. The money isn't there. There's NOTHING you can do about it.
Curious, how does one "grade" teachers? How does one know who is good and who is bad?
Sure, seniority sux, but a good teacher can be very subjective. Do you grade them by test scores? Do you grade them by if the students "like" their teacher?
It isn't that hard to figure out. It is just like grading an essay or giving performance evaluations to any other position.
As usual people posting are complaining Unions have ruined our country.
Before Unions there were no paid vacations, holidays, bereavement pay, health care, OR the 40 hour work week.
Unions are NOT to blame for this mess... Unions CREATE a middle class.
Keep on drinking the Kochsuckers' "kool aid" and soon there will be no benefits for anyone but the rich.
It is true.....the unions gave us those things AND helped create this mess. They are not mutually exclusive. What have the unions done for the middle class since WWII?
Brainwashed by propaganda again hannah.
Hannah... You forgot 1 thing... Teachers of the year were not fired first....
What are you having, Grape??
Hey, before Buggy Whips, horses wouldn't pull carriages... Your still selling Buggy Whips...
Hanna, you forget... that was before CEO's made 30 million a year with bonuses! Don't you know that if you throw megabucks at the rich, they will take care of us?
Actually none of you have ever been in a classroom or even taught. So please stop showing your ignorance. The best teachers "teach?".... yea right... education starts at home and parents today simply don't give a damn. It's easier to blame the teachers.
Teachers can motivate the kids and contact parents to help them. It is much easier when the students are younger because parents stop caring about kids somewhere between 7th-9th grade.
You progressives are too much. You simply can't objectively evaluate the efficacy of your policies. After 50 years of you progressives undermining parenting by incorporating more and more social; engineering into our schools (you guys decide when to talk sex, when to expose them to alternative lifestyles, decide whether your kid can go to a local school or be bussed), you idiots turn around and blame parents. Give me a break! And isn't you lefties that belittled child rearing to the point that if a mom stayed home she felt like a traitor to the feminist cause.
How about a novel idea; get rid of the tax and spend progressive socialists dimocraps that have had control of both houses for over 40 years. They love to hire their friends and relatives and pay back big bucks with others money. Entitlements have broken the backs of all nations. Start with gov moonbeam and get him to take some of the benefits and entitlements away from some of the liberal dimocrap legislators that have controlled CA for a long time.
Ahhhh! Again, saved by the Teachers Union! The s^ck teachers stay, and the motivated young teachers are layed off! Being a public servant I see this all day long. Lazy, unmotivated, have an excuse for everthing, persons who should have been tossed years ago saved by their union. And you wonder why this world is so messed up?!
This is the republicans solution to budget deficits, cut, cut, cut regardless of how many innocent people get harmed because heaven forbid taxes on the wealthy get raised a few percentage points because we all know that the wealthy are magically more important than any other human being.
BTW, public's perception of public service workers is very accurate....
If it weren't for Union rules about protecting seniority and management, they could probably have kept the good teacher and fired a dead-wood bureaucrat.
I worked in an industry dominated by CWA for 20+ years, and was never union, and loved it! We always voted the union down because our employer took care of us and gave a d@mn. As soon as a union dominated corp took over, the employees organized and it's never been the same since. Productivity has gone down the toilet, effeciencies are out the window, and you can't take a step without some issue creating a roadblock. That's what unions do!
You would think that teacher's caused the Bush recession.
No...but, you would think that Bush caused that teacher to get fired....
I was a teacher for 10 years and was and never will be for the tenure system in teaching. What other job are you assured to keep it based on years put in, rather than performance? And, we're talking about children's lives here. I am not against unions. They have helped with worker's rights in this country a great deal and it probably couldn't have happened without them. But . . . it's time to overall the whole education system in this country, including doing away with teacher tenure. I know this won't solve the education crisis or the budget crisis, but we need to start taking steps in the right direction. I don't believe it will happen though since it would probably be political suicide for any candidate. Unions, especially the teacher's union, are VERY powerful!
When cuts come, it's always teachers, police, firemen... The the overpaid politician just says "Sorry" and heads for the weekend estate....
Unions blow.
Our failed education system is the result of 50 years of the progressives bankrupt policies.
The altruistic progressives have turned child abuse and abuse of the unborn into their main revenue source to prop up their unsustainable public ponzi schemes. When they are not try to abort the unborn, they are stealing their future earnings by loading them up with untenable debt. Those that survive into k-12 have their education completely undermined by the progressive teachers union tenure system.
Nearly everything the left pushes for is at the expense of the unborn. If you are young an a progressive, you are an ignorant dupe. If you are old and progressive you are simply a repulsive generational thief!