Don't get too excited though, Providence is currently in the process of closing down five of it's schools, which will cut around 50 more jobs in the near future. According to the news story, "The closures are expected to shave $12 million from the school budget".
The city had followed proper procedure in keeping all of its school employees informed by sending out termination letters to those who would possibly be effected prior to March 1st of this year. This move had sparked an uproar among Union members, claiming such action was unlawful; but, Mayor Taveras "said that Providence's looming $110 million deficit next fiscal year warranted the cuts". Tuesday of this week however, those lucky 1,445 teachers were notified of their rehire.
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I think that this measure taken by Providence to re-employ its workers is just what was needed. Hopefully this act will inspire other areas to reconsider their layoffs as well and put more people back into the workplace.
4 comments:
Kathleen, excellent post! I agree that its nice to see employers investing in their human resources, even at a time when they have to make the tough choice to close facilities.
Having worked with Human Resource (HR) professionals in the past, I know that it requires a lot of money not only to lay folks off (usually the company has to contribute to their unemployment benefits for a good period of time after they walk out of the building), but it also costs a lot of money to recruit, rehire and retrain folks into open positions. When you consider the fact that a business like education will almost never see fewer consumers (students), it just doesn’t make sense to reduce the number of teachers.
However, I could see the facilities closings as a problem for students and families, as well. Parents will have to invest more money in getting their children to the schools that remain open. Class sizes will jump in the schools that still operate. Existing teachers will take-on the additional burden of more students. Also, I could see where this would cause emotional strain on the kids. It will be interesting to see how this plays-out over time.
One point I do want to make, though, is that I find it wonderful that government employers give significant notice before lay-offs. The private sector is not so kind. Usually, you are notified last minute and have one hour to be escorted out of the building. At least in a government layoff situation, you have time as an individual to prepare yourself and your family, and seek-out alternate work before you are jobless. I think that is a superior and more honorable way of behaving.
Plus, it speaks to that sense of community we talk about in class. Just because an employee isn't deemed "necessary" at your workplace any longer, doesn't mean that you need to disrupt the community and disadvantage a human being by laying them off, unannounced and unprepared. If you can ease the transition for them, you are doing more to ensure the health of the economy overall.
I agree, I feel that Providence is moving in the right direction. Hopefully, this will start other states to do the same thing and start to recover the job market.
This is very good to hear especially when the U.S. education system is basically going down the drains. Hopefully other states can use Rhode Island as an example and adopt their system of education. Teachers are the leaders in America's future and human capital which on a global scale is lacking. If we would like to compete with other world powers that are steadily rising we need more states to take action like this. There are many students I know that have graduated with a teaching degree and struggle to find a job, this simply should not be the case.
Its nice to see a state actually investing in education! Schools suck money out of the system and don't give it back, thats why people are so quick to cut their budgets and close them down, they do not generate a profit for the state. Investing in education is a long-term process, which is something that we as American's hate! We do not want to wait for these children to go to college and become the future business owners, writers, leaders of this country who will surly make money for the country.
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