What's going on here is absolutely fascinating -- NYC principals are choosing to be understaffed rather than hire certain teachers who've been excessed:
Less than two weeks before the start of school, about 1,800 teaching jobs in New York City remain open as principals appear to be resisting orders to fill vacancies with teachers whose previous positions were eliminated.
Facing steep budget cuts, the Education Department enacted a hiring freeze in the spring, requiring principals with openings to hire teachers who are already on the city’s payroll but who have no permanent position, often because their schools were closed for poor performance.
But many principals prefer new teachers. So in an act of quiet defiance, they are allowing jobs to sit vacant, leading to one of the most difficult hiring seasons in recent history despite the large number of vacancies and the thousands of candidates who could fill them.
This article doesn't do this complex issue justice. At first glance, this appears to be a simple case of principals not wanting to hire lousy teachers (which is something that should be celebrated!), but that's not the full story. In today's tight budgetary environment, many teachers are excessed due to layoffs driven by economic factors -- and since these layoffs are driven nearly entirely by seniority (rather than merit -- yet another way the union contract screws kids), many good young teachers are laid off.
The good teachers are quickly hired, as will most of the nearly 2,000 still looking for positions. The long-term ones (more than 300 have been in the pool for over a year), however, are either not trying very hard or, more likely, are mostly truly abysmal teachers who principals are (correctly) refusing to hire, so let's hope Bloomberg and Klein are successful in renegotiating this:
With the teachers’ contract up for renewal this fall, Mr. Klein said he would push for a limit on how long teachers could stay in the reserve pool before they could be laid off. But an arbitration board has rejected such a limit.
A final comment: during their tenure, Bloomberg and Klein have successfully given principals much more power, control and autonomy and, at the same time, have created accountability for them: they stand to make extra money if their schools succeed, but also are at risk of losing their jobs if their schools fail. This is EXACTLY as it should be for managers of any sort. Regarding the issue of hiring excessed teachers, principals are behaving independently and courageously, acting like accountable entrepreneurs, resisting enormous pressure to do what's best for their schools and their kids. Three cheers for the principals and for Bloomberg and Klein, who reformed the system to create these circumstanes!
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Amid Hiring Freeze, Principals Leave Jobs Empty
Published: August 28, 2009
Less than two weeks before the start of school, about 1,800 teaching jobs in New York City remain open as principals appear to be resisting orders to fill vacancies with teachers whose previous positions were eliminated.