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April 26, 2010

Is your favorite MDUSD teacher on this layoff list?


About 170 teachers and other credentialed employees in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District don't know yet whether they will have jobs next fall. 
Music teachers take up a fair number of spots on this list, writes Contra Costa Times reporter Theresa Harrington. That's because the school board has agreed to eliminate fifth-grade instrumental music next year. Here is a photo of instrumental music students at Delta View Elementary performing. 

Teachers who have received preliminary layoff notices will be able to attend public administrative hearings regarding the credentials or seniority starting Tuesday. You can view the names of teachers who are on the certified layoff list on the district's website. 

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is horrible for these teachers, but lets all be honest, this is due to the gross fiscal mismanagement of the current and past school board. These boards have had the explicit consent of the teachers union for all of the most recent elections cycles; therefore the teachers have no one to blame but themselves.

Anonymous said...

Yes! Northgate HS music teacher Greg Brown organizes the award-winning Jazz Band (just returned from Monterey Jazz Festival, with students who went to the Grammy Awards and who are in a bluegrass band), Marching Band (the only one in Walnut Creek), etc. Walnut Acres Elem music teachers Judy Ryken and Linda Snyder organize the fabulous 5th grade musical, which prepares students for Civic Arts Junior Theatre. And on the other list, there's Christine Ulrichsen who teaches at Crossroads (MDUSD school for pregnant teens) who was in Contra Costa Times for organizing the paper roller coaster project. It's crazy to send these teachers home to collect unemployment!

MDUSD parent said...

I'm hearing that the teachers of MDUSD are surveying their teachers about negotiated stuff like furloughs, benefits and salary. I'm wondering how the MDEA teacher survey will go. Will the school year be reduced this year?

Anonymous said...

Yahoo! That idiot is a goner!

Signed,
NGHS graduate

Anonymous said...

The state has taken away even more funds from school districts that have already cut to the bone and the anti-tax "people", using that term generously, can attack like wolves.

Yes on Measure A, please.

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:21

Just curious. How much of your income are you willing to pay to the government in taxes...50%...60%...90%?

I'm sure the government would be happy to take you total paycheck and spend it in your best interest. Feel free to fork over the whole thing next year.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the tax question: The crazy thing is we send our tax money to Sacramento, and they don't send it back! The state revenue levels for school districts were decided in the 1970s and haven't been updated, and guess what, all our school districts (MDUSD, Acalanes, WCSD, etc) are at the LOWEST level. MDUSD is getting less than $5,000 per student, and rural St. Helena is getting $14,500 per student. We should stop sending education money to Sacramento! Tea party anyone?

Anonymous said...

"They are using their usual fear tactics threatening severe cuts in mathematics, science, etc. There is no need to do this. Plenty of money is available if the District managed it properly."

Anonymous said...

"The District’s teacher salaries top out at $90,801, and average $75,477 – highest in the county."

Anonymous said...

You have the wrong school district - MDUSD is not Acalanes. Your confusion is understandable. Our school districts should have been unified by the voter petition 30 years ago. Then our city could support all our schools, and together we'd raise the money to save all our teachers.

Anonymous said...

My daughter had 2 of the teachers listed in elementary school. They were both working in Pleasant Hill, but were transferred to Bay Point and Pittsburg last Fall. Now it appears they are both gone for good.

These are young, energetic women and the kids love them. They seem to be doing a good job with the kids.

Because of the system put in place by the union, these women will be gone, while the older, less energetic and less proficient women will keep their jobs. This is just the opposite of what happens in the real world. In the real world, if you don't perform, you're out. In the world of unions, all you have to do is make it long enough and they can't get rid of you.

The system is broken. Raising taxes is not the answer; smaller class sizes is not the solution.