BLITZ KRIEG PUBLISHING
Michigan District Lays Off all Teachers; Has No Funds for Payroll
by Donna Gundle-Krieg March 17, 2009
Note: to comment on this story or other stories about education in Michigan, please go to Examiner.com
All union employees, including about 500 teachers, were laid off in one fell swoop in the Pontiac, Michigan school district last week.
In addition, the Pontiac School District is in jeapordy of not being able to make its April payroll if it can not find a bank willing to lend it $18 - $21 million.
The massive layoff is in preparation for downsizing, and recall notices should be issued by April 30 to those who will have jobs in the fall, according to Acting Pontiac Schools Superintendent Linda Paramore.
The drastic action of the Pontiac Board of Education has angered union members.
“It is unheard of to lay off everybody,” Irma Collins, president of the Pontiac Education Association, told the Oakland Press. “They didn’t call us in and sit down and say let’s work with each other.”
The district is facing a projected $12 million deficit this year. 7,200 students are enrolled this year in a district that had building capacity for 20,000 students. Enrollment is expected to further decline by 600 next year.
The restructuring plan of the district includes the closing of half the district schools; merging the high schools and middle schools; redesigning the high school as the district knows it; and improving curriculum.
In the meantime, there will be no cash left to make the April 30th payroll unless Interim Deputy Superintendent of Finance Felix Chow can find a lender. So far, he has not had any luck.
For more information, see:
Pontiac Teachers Worried They Will Not Be Called Back
Pontiac Schools At Risk Of Not Being Able to Fund Payroll
Pontiac School Board To Decide How Many Schools to Close
Violence Plagues Pontiac Schools
Note: if you would like to receive regular updates on what’s happening with education, please click on the Subscribe icon above to sign up for once-a-day spam-free emails.
Stories by Donna Gundle-Krieg:
Education in the United States
Books With Stories by Donna Gundle-Krieg
Blitzkriegpublishing home page
Michigan Death Notices home page
Northern Michigan Shanty Creek/ Schuss Mountain Rental For Ski and Golf
