Staffing Cut Possible For Special Ed Teachers (TX)

May 11, 2010

There is some concern that the  Dallas ISD may cut some special education teaching positions as school leaders grapple with next year’s budget.

Rena Honea, AFT-Alliance association president, said a change in the way the district calculates how many special needs teachers are required could open the door for layoffs.

"In terms of whether anyone will be laid off, that is too early to tell," DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander said Friday. "There is a pos sibility of some positions being lost, but there’s also the possibility that positions won’t be lost, depending on the formula, attrition," and other factors.

Dahlander said special education teachers were notified two months ago that the district was changing its staffing formula in keeping with special education law.

"They were given a letter letting them know we were moving away from minutes [spent with students] to a student-to-teacher formula, and as a result, during the next couple of months this will be reviewed and it can impact them down the road," Dahlander said.

Dale Kaiser, president of the NEA-Dallas employees association, and other school association representatives met Monday with DISD chief finance officer Larry Throm to discuss the budget for next school year.

Kaiser said the 2010-11 proposed budget includes going to a staffing ratio formula for special education teachers whose students attend regular classes during the day, lessening the number of teachers needed. Last week, the district held a job fair for the affected teachers and support employees, he said.

"There are job openings in the district for special ed teachers," Kaiser said. "The intent of the district seems to be getting as many of those employees placed as possible."

It is not known yet how many employees could be out of work.

The DISD board is scheduled to discuss next year’s budget at a briefing Thursday.

Asked last week if the DISD plans to ask voters to approve an increase in the district’s tax rate, Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said: "We’re going to talk about the budget next week, and I don’t want to get in front of the board on that."

Financial documents posted online show that as of March 31, the district had about a $2 million deficit in its main operating accounts.