Previous Story
Proposal eyes permanent jobs for teachers
|
Posted on Oct 12 2004
Board of Education teacher representative Ambrose Bennett is proposing to change teachers’ employment from the current two-year contract to “permanent employment status.”
During an interview, Bennett said his teacher tenure proposal, if approved, would enable teachers to have a permanent contract with the Public School System instead of a two-year contract. He said his proposal includes implementing the first two years of employment as a probationary period.
He said, though, that PSS would still be able to terminate teachers who do not meet certain requirements throughout their term within PSS.
“I see tenure as a continuous process,” he said. “Even though you have tenure, you still have to meet certain requirements, like workshops, [and] that nature is already part of PPS policy. [Also] any employee can be terminated… Tenure does not mean teachers can’t be terminated with cause.”
Bennett first introduced the proposal during last Friday’s ad hoc committee meeting, which brought up concerns from several committee members.
Bennett was instructed to provide the committee with a presentation containing information that would lead them to believe his proposal is a “good thing.”
“First of all, I’m thankful that the board is addressing teacher concerns and that we have a better understanding of how we can work together cooperatively,” Bennett said. “The board has given us some things to look into that can help teachers such as a formal process for non-renewal of contracts; [they also] want us to do a presentation on the importance of teacher tenure.”
Bennett said the board intends to meet with all school representatives about this, as well as other issues, and encourages all school representatives to be present during the meeting, which has yet to be scheduled.
“We need school reps to make decisions and to hold down any dissension between teachers,” he said. “If a school rep is not there and we make a decision, they will be held to that decision. It’s very important they attend meeting so they can be educated about various issues being addressed with the board and each other.”
