Hundreds can't slow Dist. 54's plan to cut 100 jobs

Passion fueled both sides of an argument Thursday night over Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54's controversial plan to cut more than 100 staff members.

Especially contentious was the debate over the replacement of 19 nontenured fine arts and physical education teachers with part-timers.

Despite 600 folding chairs in the gym of Eisenhower Junior High in Hoffman Estates, some people were still left standing at the board of education meeting.

Many teachers, parents and residents argued against the loss of year-to-year continuity that might be caused by hiring part-time teachers to fill music, art and PE jobs at some smaller schools.

“Our fear is that the transient nature of part-time teachers seeking full-time work will not be in the best interest of our students,” said Carmel Cottrell, president of District 54's teachers union.

Resident Roger Bianco said his concerns were those of a homeowner worried by a drop in property values in a district that might no longer look as attractive to good teachers.

“When I see wrongs, I feel it necessary to voice my opinion about those wrongs, and I see wrongs here,” Bianco said.

But board members and administrators held firm that the plan was right.

Superintendent Ed Rafferty said the consistency some audience members were arguing for doesn't exist in the district today because of scheduling glitches caused by uneven workloads at different-sized schools.

District 54 employs 57 full-time fine arts and PE teachers across its 21 elementary schools. If the staffing plan is approved March 17, 19 nontenured members of this group would be laid off and at least 30 certified part-time teachers hired in their place for a combined total of 63 full- and part-time fine arts and PE teachers.

Officials said fine arts and PE teachers at some of the district's smaller schools teach as few as 12 hourlong classes a week before traveling to other schools. But under the new plan, each building would have dedicated music, art and PE teachers.

Rafferty said arguments about a lack of candidates looking for part-time work or the dedication of those candidates was purely speculative.

In fact, the district employs 66 certified part-time teachers now, officials said.

“The board should fire me if I bring forward proposals that would intentionally harm our programs,” Rafferty said.

Among the other cuts, 13 classroom teacher positions will be eliminated through retirements, though the average class size throughout the district will remain 23 students.

Three special education teacher positions and four administrative positions will also be eliminated through attrition and reassignments.

In the early childhood program, the district will reduce 15 teaching positions, 17 instructional assistants, and six child and family educator positions due to uncertainties over state funding in this area.

In bilingual education, nine bilingual assistant positions will be cut, but 8.5 bilingual resource teachers will take their place in a restructuring move that will keep English Language Learners at their neighborhood schools.

Finally, 39 special education assistant positions will be cut due to a decrease in special education students.