There's still not much clarity on how teachers are supposed to use the 10 hours of furlough time mandated for state employees by Gov. Perdue.
As noted in today's article, it looks like the state Board of Education will be asked to approve a policy saying that teachers can't take off on days that students are in session. That's because it would cost money to hire substitute teachers.
While it looks like teacher workdays would have to be used, the mechanism for scheduling the time for the state's teachers will be a pain.
Wake school officials said Thursday that they're still talking with the Department of Public Instruction on how to implement the furloughs.
Some of you guys have speculated whether teachers could take the time off this upcoming school year on Wednesdays when school would be released early.
But Jennifer Lanane, president of Wake NCAE, didn't think that those Wednesdays would be usable due to employment contracts.
It's Lanane's belief that teachers will wind up eating the 10 hours and working them anyway because of all the duties they have to do.
"They're essentially taking 10 hours of pay and we'll really not get the time off," Lanane said.
Comments
I laughed when I saw the 10 flex hours...
Fri, 05/01/2009 - 13:30 — MarvinSchwartz...because I knew teachers would never be able to take them.
What a lot of people do not realize is that teachers can only take "vacation" days (called "annual leave") off within the school year on days when students are not in session (what is known as an "optional" or "non-required" workday). And, thanks to the school calendar law, there are only 4 of these days in this school year between August 25 and June 10 (and one of those was taken for a snow makeup day).
If the state board passes this (and they will have to), then there is NO way 10-month teachers will be able to take it before the end of the year. All that will happen is that school systems (not just WCPSS) will designate one of the five workdays before school opens in August as the "flex" day and anyone who was employed as of May 1 will not have to report to work that day.
Of course, as Lanane says, teachers will have to work anyway since they will have to get ready for the year. So she is right - most teachers will just end up eating the "flex time".
Like I said in the other
Fri, 05/01/2009 - 09:17 — rr77rr99Like I said in the other post.... if the teachers do not revolt, then WCPSS is slipping Prozac or something into their coffee, because this would certainly put me over the edge.
You must be independently
Fri, 05/01/2009 - 13:26 — user1234You must be independently wealthy to think anyone could afford to revolt during this economic meltdown. Like many people, teachers depend on two working parents to keep afloat. With wide spread layoffs, teachers are in plentiful supply. Earlier in the year, there were at least 10 candidates for each opening with many having +Masters Degrees coming from hard hit places like the northeast. It would take a lot to risk losing your home at this time. .