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Teacherbillrevises'lasthired,firstfired'MinneapolisandSt.Paulschoolswouldbeabletonegotiateseniority'srolein layoffs.:[METROEdition]
Brandt,SteveStaffWriter.StarTribune[Minneapolis,Minn]23May2005:1B.

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Abstract(summary)
TheLegislatureisexpectedtoadoptabillthatallowstwobigdistrictstonegotiateexceptionstotheironruleofteachertenure:lasthired,firstfired.ThatfreestheMinneapolisandSt. Pauldistrictsandtheirunionstonegotiateexceptionstoseniorityinlayoffs.They'retheonlydistrictsinthestatebarredfromdoingso. TheproposedchangeinboththeHouseandSenateeducationbillsaddressesonlylayoffsfortenuredteachers,nothowthosevacanciesarefilled.Minneapolisteachersusuallyachieve tenurewhentheystarttheirfourthyearonthejob.Afternontenuredprobationaryteachers,juniortenuredteachersfacethegreatestriskoflayoffs.Lastyear,a1980sstate SupremeCourtrulingguidedhowthetenurelawaffectedMinneapolislayoffs.Thatforcedmoreseniortenuredteachersholdingmultiplelicensestoswitchintoteachingsubjectsthey typicallyhadn'ttaughtinyearsoreverifthatkeptamorejuniortenuredteacheronthejob. Rep.JimDavnie,DFLMinneapolis,saidhesponsoredthetenureproposalintheHousebecausehe'dheardplentyfromconstituentsabouttheimpactofthetenurelawayearago.A formerteachersunionpresidentintheBuffalo,Minn.,schools,hesaidtheMinneapolislayoffprocessneedsalogicthatrespondstoeducationalneeds,yetrespectsteachers."Idon't thinkteachersfavorrigidityforrigidity'ssake,"hesaid.

FullText
RemembertheanguishedwailsofMinneapolisparentsayearagowhentheirchildrenlostafavoriteteachertothelabyrinthineworkingsofthestatetenurelaw? Helpisonthehorizon. TheLegislatureisexpectedtoadoptabillthatallowstwobigdistrictstonegotiateexceptionstotheironruleofteachertenure:lasthired,firstfired.ThatfreestheMinneapolisandSt. Pauldistrictsandtheirunionstonegotiateexceptionstoseniorityinlayoffs.They'retheonlydistrictsinthestatebarredfromdoingso. Justwhatthat'sworthdependsonhowfarteacherunionsarewillingtogoandhowhardthedistrictsarewillingtopush.Butunionsjoinedthedistrictsinagreeingtotheproposed change.ThatfollowedanoutpouringofparentalprotestinMinneapolisovertheforcedreassignmentof140seniorteacherswhoheldlicensestoteachinmorethanonesubject. Somewereshiftedintoareastheyhadnevertaughtsometookleavesorretiredratherthanacceptthetransfer. Morelayoffsareontapthisyear,with294probationaryteachersnotifiedalreadyinMinneapolisandmorelayoffstobeannouncedlater.St.Paulfaceslayoffsthisyear,withthe possibilityofforcedassignmentshiftsayearfromnow. Bothdistrictsandtheirunionsarejustbeginningtodiscusstheirnextcontracts,andthelawwouldn'ttakeeffectuntilAugust.Thatmeansthatchangeswouldn'tkickinuntil2006 layoffs. AmongthepotentialchangesmentionedinMinneapolissofararehelpingspecializedplacessuchasSpanishimmersionschoolsorautismprogramstoprotecttheirstaffsfromlayoffs orforcedshifts. Minorityteachersmightalsobenefit.Thedistricthassaiditwantstoprotectitshighlyqualifiedteachersofcolorfromlayoffs. Blackteachershavebeenlaidofftoamuchgreaterdegreethanotherraces,inpartbecauseoflowerseniority.Thedistrictalsosaysitwantstheabilitytorecruitandkeepquality veteranteacherstobolsterthestaffsofhighminorityschoolsthatexperiencefrequentturnover. However,theproposedchangeinboththeHouseandSenateeducationbillsaddressesonlylayoffsfortenuredteachers,nothowthosevacanciesarefilled.Minneapolisteachers usuallyachievetenurewhentheystarttheirfourthyearonthejob.Afternontenuredprobationaryteachers,juniortenuredteachersfacethegreatestriskoflayoffs.Lastyear,a 1980sstateSupremeCourtrulingguidedhowthetenurelawaffectedMinneapolislayoffs.Thatforcedmoreseniortenuredteachersholdingmultiplelicensestoswitchintoteaching subjectstheytypicallyhadn'ttaughtinyearsoreverifthatkeptamorejuniortenuredteacheronthejob. Beyondthequestionofwhogetsaxedduringlayoffs,there'stheissueofwhichteachersfillthevacancies.That'sgovernedbytheteachersunioncontract.Teacherswhoarecutfrom theirschoolswhentheirpositionsareeliminatedgetfirstcrackatvacanciesintheirlicensearea.Butseniorityplaysthedominantroleinwhogetshiredforvacancieswhenteachers seekingavoluntarytransferbetweenschoolscompeteforaposition. MaryFordhelpedorganizeaforumofparentsinMarchtourgegreaterstaffingstability.Shesaidthependingbill"takesusinonestepintherightdirection.Weneedtodomoreso thatprincipalsarereallygiventhepowertochooseandretainstaff." Schoolboardmembershavecomplainedabouttheimpactofseniorityinhiring.Teachersoftenattempttoshiftoutofhighpovertyschoolsastheygainseniority.Aninternaldistrict

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studylastyearshowedastrongassociationbetweenhighturnoverinmiddleschoolgradesandlowtestscores. Rep.JimDavnie,DFLMinneapolis,saidhesponsoredthetenureproposalintheHousebecausehe'dheardplentyfromconstituentsabouttheimpactofthetenurelawayearago.A formerteachersunionpresidentintheBuffalo,Minn.,schools,hesaidtheMinneapolislayoffprocessneedsalogicthatrespondstoeducationalneeds,yetrespectsteachers."Idon't thinkteachersfavorrigidityforrigidity'ssake,"hesaid. Indeed,teachersthemselveshaveexpressedconcernsabouttheimpactsofasenioritydrivensystem.AsurveyofMinneapolisteacherunionmembersearlierthisyearfoundthat about40percentofthoserespondingfeltthatschoolstabilityshouldbethemostimportantfactordeterminingteacherlayoffs,transfersorreassignments.Asmallernumber,28.5 percent,namedseniorityasthemostimportantfactor. LouiseSundin,MinneapolisFederationofTeacherspresident,saidshethinksthatresultsshowadifferenceinoutlookbetweenyoungerteacherswhohaven'teverbeenlaidoff, comparedwithasmallernumberofolderteacherswhohave. Thisyear,thedistrictislookingatallowingteacherswhoformedateamatschoolsthatarebeingclosedtoshifttonewschoolsasateam.Theargumentisthatkeepingtogether teacherswhoareexperiencedinworkingwithoneanotherhelpsstudents. Thedistricthaspreviouslysaidthatitsabilitytopersuadetheuniontomodifyseniorityforplacementissuesishamperedbythelackofmoneytouseasanincentive.Butthedistrict maybeinmoreofapositiontodealintheupcomingroundoftalks.TheMinneapolisunionhasbrokenrankswiththerestoftheeducationlobbyinthestatetosupportalegislative proposalbackedbytheMinnesotaBusinessPartnershiptobeefupschoolbaseddecisionmaking.Inoneversion,parentsandstaffcouldnegotiatebudgetingandhiringcontrolfortheir schoolswiththedistrict.Butchangesintheunioncontractwouldbeneededtomakethatworksmoothly. Sundinhassaidherreservationsaboutlimitingtheabilityofteacherstotransferbetweenschoolsisrelatedtoconcernsabouttheirtreatmentbyprincipals.Thedistrict'swillingnessto dealonmovingtowardstrongerschoolbaseddecisionsmayinfluencehowflexibletheunionwillbeonseniorityissues. . SteveBrandtisatsbrandt@startribune.comand6126734438. . TOLEARNMORE What:TheMinneapolisFederationofTeachershasinvitedparentsandothercityresidentstoadiscussionofschoolstabilityandstaffingissues.Thisisafollowuptoameeting organizedinMarchbyparentsconcernedaboutthefactorsthatcontrolhowteachingjobsarefilled. When:6:30to8p.m.today. Where:Thefederation'soffice,678thAv.NE. . BlackteachersloseinMinneapoliscontraction TheMinneapolisschooldistricthasbeenlosingenrollment.Blackteachersaregettinglaidoffmarkedlyfasterthanothers.That'sduetothelasthired,firstfiredruleofseniorityin stateteachertenurelaw,oneofthereasonsthelawmaychange.Layoffsformostotherminoritiesaremoreinsyncwiththoseforwhites.. SchoolyearRace2000 200120042005ChangePercentage White3,8763,15172518.7% Black47432914530.6% Latino828022.4% AsianAmerican1441212316.0% AmericanIndian77601722.1% Minority77759018724.1% Total4,6533,74191219.6% .Source:Minneapolispublicschools Illustration Photo:CHART (Copyright2005StarTribune)

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Title Teacherbillrevises'lasthired,firstfired'Minneapolisand St.Paulschoolswouldbeabletonegotiateseniority'srolein layoffs.:[METROEdition] Brandt,SteveStaffWriter1
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2005 May23,2005 2005 NEWS TheStarTribuneCompany Minneapolis,Minn. UnitedStates GeneralInterestPeriodicalsUnitedStates 08952825 Newspapers English NEWSPAPER 427708390 http://www.liberty.edu:2048/login? url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/427708390? accountid=12085 (Copyright2005StarTribune) 20110831 ProQuestCentral

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