All 2000 teachers in Providence sent pink slips

**Red_Lizard2** · 02-25-11, 03:04 PM

Busy news friday apparently, just heard about this today but apparently the school board yesterday in Providence, RI voted 4:3 to send termination notices to all of the teachers. According to the article, it won't mean they all will be laid off, but it is possible.

The school board of Rhode Island's financially troubled capital city has voted to send termination letters to all of its nearly 2,000 teachers after city officials said the move would give them "maximum flexibility" to make budget cuts.

State law requires school departments to notify teachers by March 1 if they'll be laid off the following school year.

Providence teachers received notices of potential layoffs before the board met Thursday night and voted 4-3 on sending termination letters. The notices don't mean the teachers will lose their jobs, but the vote means some of them could at the end of the year.

Teacher layoffs: Providence, R.I., teachers to get termination letters - latimes.com

Don't know enough to really comment on it (by the way the city has overspent its budget by 57 million apparently). Can't say, at the moment, I'd really agree with the move. If it was just the crap teachers, I probably wouldn't complain, but all of them? eh, hopefully they at least look at how effective the teachers are before making a final decision (and not just dump all of them, or get rid of some of the good ones).

**deathgodusmc** · 02-25-11, 03:23 PM

Yeah i read about this the other day. They sent them to everyone because they are required to met a deadline and didn't know the actual amount or who would be fired at this point.

**enf** · 02-25-11, 03:27 PM

This isnt standard, but its not uncommon. Ive seen many districts around here give pink slips to all teachers that didnt have tenure (3 or 5 yrs, I forget) and then rehire them. Its just a way to cut the fat a bit and look at each teacher under the microscope. Kind of nerve racking for the teachers Im sure (especially in this situation if they have been there for a long time).

**WickedTribe** · 02-25-11, 03:30 PM

It sounds like they have to do this just to be able to consider releasing them when they may need to. I used to work for a landlord, and as soon as a tenant was a day late on rent, we served them an eviction notice. We didn't intend to evict them, but there was a multi-month waiting period between when you served them and when you could actually have them removed. This way, by the time they did become a problem, we could remove them. If they never became a problem, no harm done.

**Red_Lizard2** · 02-25-11, 03:35 PM

Well as long as they get rid of just the lemons, Suppose it won't be a bad thing (off-topic, but tenure is a load of crap that shouldn't be allowed imo).