Schools wait on answers from Springfield

Life can be tough for a nontenured teacher.

It is routine for many school districts to essentially lay off all their nontenured teachers at the end of the year only to rehire many of them a few months later, when the districts have a better handle on their revenue and student enrollment.

In the meantime, the teachers are left wondering if they'll have a job in the fall.

For many years, teachers in Community Unit District 300 were spared that difficult routine. Before the 2006 referendum, the district was growing rapidly and needed every teacher it could get; after, the district was flush with money and could afford to have an extra teacher or 30 hanging around.

But the state's budget crisis has finally prompted District 300 to follow the lead of other districts, including neighboring Elgin Area School District U-46.

For the first time in recent memory, District 300 last year released a number of first-year, general education teachers working at the elementary level. Fortunately, the district was able to call back all of the teachers.

This year, with federal stimulus money all but dried up and the state contemplating drastic cuts to education, the district is thinking of expanding its strategy to include between 140 and 160 first- and second-year teachers.

District and union leaders hope most of those teachers will be rehired - but nothing is certain in this economic climate.

I couldn't help but notice suburban school officials' biting criticism of state officials for forcing them into difficult decisions like the one the District 300 school board will face on Monday.

There's no doubt much of that criticism is justifiable, but some of it lacks precision.

From where I stand, there are two big reasons for the state's current fiscal crisis: poor planning and budget management by current and former state leaders, and the economic downturn that has affected virtually everyone's bottom line.

The folks we've elected to represent us in Springfield rightly deserve criticism for their role in the current economic crisis; they can't be held responsible for economic conditions that have taken millions out of nearly every state's coffers.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 41 states faced budget shortfalls this year, with that number likely to grow next year.

What school leaders are looking for now is not someone to blame; it's answers - answers that will help them make the best budget decisions for next year.

Some folks seem to think the only answer is a big tax hike. The Chicago Tribune and others have rightly urged policymakers to make a compelling case for why intelligent spending reductions should not be considered first.

So far, the folks in Springfield have shrugged their shoulders at that suggestion.

And while they shrug, more teachers will be working on their resumes.