According to the school board, the RIF notifications were issued in
order to preserve flexibility and stay within the voter-approved budget;
at Town Meeting Day, voters approved a zero increase in teachers'
salaries.
Harwood's contract with the teachers' union is still unresolved and set
to expire at the end of the school year; RIF notifications were given to
the most junior member of each department except math and science.
Harwood's family and consumer science teacher, Laura Huss-Steils, was
issued a RIF statement but resigned last week.
The RIF notices are based on seniority through the contract under which
the union and the school board operate, according to school board chair
Scott Mackey; with no agreement in place and the fixed budget, the
school board opted to issue RIF letters to preserve flexibility.
No resolution came out of the June 7 mediation between the teachers'
union and the school board. Teachers who did not receive RIF letters
received letters of intent that indicated that the school board intends
to offer contracts when the negotiations are finalized.
Board members aren't able to determine the amount of flexibility in the
budget since the contract issue hasn't been settled. The June 16 meeting
will determine how many of the nine RIF'd teachers will be laid off, if
any at all.
Teachers who received RIF letters include Roger Coupe (technology), Matt
Henchen (history, technology integration, IT support), Sam Krotinger
(photography, graphic design, IT support), Lisa Lemiux (guidance
counselor), Brian Moody (health and physical education), Dan Morse
(English), Bruce Sklar (jazz, music tech, middle school jazz band), and
Rachel Potts (next step employment specialist and career exploration).
Students have started Facebook pages in support of saving RIF'd
teachers; a group called "Keep Bruce Sklar at Harwood" now has close to
400 members.
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