It's that Time of the Year...Again

As we approach a new month, school districts all over California are scrambling to creatively figure out ways to avoid the inevitable Reduction in Force notices handed out to teachers. Unfortunately, even though California finally agreed on a budget, education was among the hardest hit when it comes to reduction in funds.

What exactly does this mean for me? It means that I should expect to get another pink slip by March 15, the date which school districts are required by law to notify teachers of possible layoffs. Does that mean that the school district will actually lay me off? No. Does it mean that I'm guaranteed my job for next year? No. The only thing it seems to do is put me in the gray area of the job market. I don't know whether I'll need to find another place to work or not. Wouldn't it just be easier for the school district to wait a few more months to send out the pink slips in an effort to finalize their budgets? Then, instead of sending out 100 pinks slips with the realistic intention of laying off 2 teachers, they could maybe only send out 10 notices. It's amazing how much less turnover you would get in schools if teachers had any ounce of job security.

At any rate, I will accept my pink slip this year (like I have any choice), and I will wait for any news that the district has to offer. I figure that if it comes down to it, I can get a job at a Mathnasium that just opened up down the street. You're laughing, but I'm serious. I'm guessing that it's a tutoring facility that specializes in math, but I like to think that it's instead a funtastic place where anyone can go to guess the volume of basketballs, graph the lob of badminton birdies, and calculate the speed of dodgeballs just before impact. It's better than when Donald Duck got to go to Mathmagic Land!