District 300 may release 140 to 160 teachers

Facing a potentially devastating cut in state aid, officials in Community Unit District 300 are considering taking the unusual step of releasing 140 to 160 first- and second-year teachers, union and district leaders said Monday.

The downsizing would be in addition to roughly 28 staff reductions resulting from $4.6 million in budget cuts the school board approved last month, district officials said.

But unlike the 28 positions, the district may end up rehiring many of the nontenured teachers, depending on student enrollment numbers that won't be final until sometime in July, officials said.

"We probably will hire the bulk of them back," board President Joe Stevens said.

Under state law, the district must notify employees of layoffs at least two months before the end of the school year.

But officials will not know how much state funding the district will receive by that deadline. Releasing nontenured teachers en masse to meet the deadline and then rehiring them allows the district to avoid having more teachers than it needs.

Many school districts routinely release nontenured teachers at the end of the school year, then call them back based on staffing needs. But District 300 had been able to avoid that practice before the state's recent budget woes.

"It is a very upsetting time, and none of us wants to go through this, but we have to make sure we don't overstaff," teacher's union President Kolleen Hanetho said. "The money just isn't there."

The number of teachers the district releases and decides to call back will depend on the outcome of ongoing negotiations between the district and its unions - mainly the 1,358-member teacher's union, Stevens said.

"If all of our negotiations with our unions prove fruitful, we either will not (release nontenured teachers), or we will hire back most of them," Stevens said. But he added that the labor talks would probably not conclude by the state-mandated deadline, making the cuts necessary.

Officials said even if the board votes to release the nontenured teachers, 30 to 40 first- and second-year teachers in hard-to-fill positions will be retained.

On March 8, the board is scheduled to vote on cutting specific employees tied to last month's $4.6 million in budget reductions. If the district is unable to reach agreement with its unions by then, the board will also vote on releasing first- and second-year teachers.

Hanetho, the teacher's union president, encouraged parents to register their children for classes early so the district can get a better handle on staffing needs next year.

The board will consider $1.2 million in additional cuts to transportation later this year.

District 300 serves East and West Dundee, and Carpentersville, Algonquin, Cary, and other surrounding suburbs.