HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Friday marked the deadline for Hillsborough Schools to let teachers know their fate.
Facing a huge deficit, the school district notified hundreds of educators about whether they’re staying put, getting re-assigned, or in many cases - laid-off.
“I’m frustrated and saddened that we’re having this type of movement today in our district,” said Rob Kriete, President of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association.
As head of the Hillsborough County teachers’ union, Kriete has seen good days and bad days.
He described Friday as being among the worst.
“I’ve been in this district for over 25 years,” said Kriete, “And this is one of the darkest times that I can ever recall.”
“We found ourselves over $100 million in a financial deficit as we close this school year,” Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Addison Davis explained earlier in the week. “With that said, we’ve got to make additional adjustments. Over 1,000 positions will be, openly, cut in Hillsborough County.”
All this week, Kriete has been fielding calls from educators, many in tears, after being told their jobs had been consolidated if not eliminated.
“There are those people that are just emotional about it,” said Kriete. “Then there are those who are just very angry about it, and I understand that too. I mean I’m angry as well they were going through this.”
While a thousand positions are being cut, the district needs to hire just as many every year. So, the goal is to give educators impacted the first crack at those jobs by entering a seniority-based pool.
Starting next week, teachers who got a notification from the district will be given a priority opportunity to transfer to what they call transformational schools, where students often need extra help with subjects like reading.
Some will require on-the-job retraining or certification.
“For example, I’m an English teacher. So, for me to teach science it doesn’t quite work,” said Kriete. “Now, there are ways for me to go in and teach science as I learn to be a science teacher doing an intent-to-learn. That’s something we’re working with the district with.”
Kriete says parents also need to be prepared for what’s coming in the fall.
“There are going to be higher class loads,” he said. “There are going to be less professionals to meet the needs of the kids.”
Other cost-saving measures being discussed include possibly selling the district’s downtown Tampa headquarters or even closing under-attended schools.
Kriete says the teachers union has been promised no schools will be closing in the immediate future.
They’re asking the district to let teachers who don’t land another job over the summer stay on in other support roles until another teaching job becomes available.
“Unconscionable is the word I would use,” Kriete said. “And we are doing everything we can to save the employment, like I said, of every single employee in Hillsborough County right now.”
What other people are reading right now:
- Getting your second dose of COVID-19 vaccine? Here's what to expect
- Prince Philip, husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, dead at 99
- Pumping of wastewater from Piney Point put on pause
- Man sentenced to 24 years in prison for killing of mom, baby in 2018 Bayshore crash
- Hurricane experts predict an above-average 2021 Atlantic hurricane season
- Rays Up! Here's everything you need to know about the Tampa Bay Rays home opener today
►Breaking news and weather alerts: Get the free 10 Tampa Bay app
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for the Brightside Blend Newsletter