"L.A. school board OKs cuts that could lay off thousands," 5:37 PM April 14, 2009, reported by Howard Blume, the education reporter for L.A. Times, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/04/moments-ago-the-los-angeles-board-of-education---approved-budget-measures-that-could-result-in-more---than-5000-job-losses.html
The final deadlines for decisions are not here yet, but high schools and middle schools will be most affected with the teacher retentions set to preserve elementary school situations above the others. The seniority system largely means younger teachers out and older teachers in, but the protesting teachers don't want any layoffs. A lot of non-teaching positions will be cut, too, but the story and parent concern is mostly on the classroom situations.
Board member Tamara Galatzan was not in agreement in the voting, 4-3, and her district has a lot of the burden as lots of middle class schools in the Valley will be hardest hit. There's more to come on that story.
If there is a change in the system, it's going to be an uphill battle to change the contract to something other than "seniority" to determine layoff priorities. It's unlikely to see teachers with seniority voting on any proposal to give up that term and use some "merit", "quality", or "effectiveness" as a basis for retention with the first problem being to have it introduced as a proposal and then, maybe first, to see "how" you can determine "quality" teachers? Get a class with a bunch of tough kids with their social skills being hostile to compliance and you may not look to be as effective as the Advanced Placement or Academically Enriched classroom teacher, and so on.
A radio news report just played a sound bite of some teachers outside the Board meeting shouting, "Strike, Strike." Well, THAT would be probably the worst choice for teachers to follow and the union would not do well to choose that action in times of extended budget deficits in LAUSD and other districts, and when enrollment in the District is dropping each year.
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