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Teachers up in arms
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Months of frustration over Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s handling of the DC public school system came to a head last week when nearly 400 city school employees were laid off. Of those, 229 were teachers, many of whom were tenured and not far from retirement. The Washington Teachers’ Union saw this coming over a year ago. Nevertheless, it’s always a shock when you go to work one day only to learn you’ll never be coming back.
Then came the anger. Not only the teachers, but students were hopping mad when they learned of the layoffs, which also included dozens of counselors who had formed real bonds with their students. And think about some of these kids. Many of them don’t exactly get the support they need at home. But they did receive that support and guidance at school from their counselors and teachers. Walk-outs ensued. Protests were held. Things got out of hand when the police showed up. You could see the anger and frustration on the faces of those kids. And you could hear it in their voices.
McKinley Tech High School in Northeast has been the epicenter of the fight so far. There, students have already staged a walk-out. Then on Friday, things got really out of hand when, during a protest of the layoffs, at least one student got into a fight with a police officer and pepper spray was released into the crowd. Earlier this week, students, parents and teachers at McKinley staged yet another demonstration. “Hey Ho -- Rhee and Fenty Got To Go!” was the chant of the day. This was a very organized, very passionate bunch. The best and brightest of students were making their voices heard, many claiming the actions taken by Chancellor Rhee were illegal to begin with, since she was not picked by the people to oversee school operations. They’re right about that. She wasn’t elected. She was, however, picked by Mayor Adrian Fenty. But then again, residents also didn’t have a say when Mayor Fenty took control of the school system.
Michelle Rhee and Adrian Fenty contend this latest round of teacher layoffs was necessary due to more than 40-million dollars worth of necessary spending cuts in the school operating budget. Rhee has also said officials are taking every step necessary to minimize any disruption and are working to ensure the affected schools continue to focus on serving the students. She has said that about 60-percent of the system’s schools will lose no more than one teacher, while about 12 schools in the system will lose at least five teachers. You have to credit Rhee for putting it in plain English. Still, there have been disruptions. The last week-and-a-half has been proof of that. And schools, especially the ones that have seen several of its teachers let go, have certainly been negatively affected. Maybe what Rhee should have said is that to make up for the loss of tenured teachers, the system is going ahead with plans to hire younger, less experienced ones to replace them. And if I were working in the public relations department of DCPS, I probably would have been laid off by now, too.
The Washington Teachers’ Union is now threatening a lawsuit against the District. DC Council Chair Vincent Gray has also said he is planning to hold hearings on whether the layoffs were necessary. Gray is the union’s strongest ally right now. He has even gone so far in saying that Michelle Rhee and Adrian Fenty are engaging in “union busting.” A statement like that may be a little premature. But it’s no secret that Adrian Fenty, with his effective use of Michelle Rhee, continues to dramatically shake up the DC Public School system. I don’t think anyone can argue against the fact there needed to be a shakeup with how poorly city schools have performed over the years. It’s the way Fenty has gone about it that has so many up in arms. The next demonstration, and perhaps the biggest yet, is planned for this Thursday when the Washington Teachers’ Union holds a rally at Freedom Plaza, right across the street from the mayor’s office.
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