I have been reading the notes about realignment. I asked Emma Hixson, MPS's Executive Director of Employee Relations, where the district stands. She said I could share this answer:
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The District hasn't taken any position on realignment. The MFT is pushing us to renew an agreement not to realign
that ended 12/1. Their urgency is that if teachers want to drop a license they have to notify the state by 12/31.
The District is not feeling the urgency because we want the new Board to hear the pros and cons of realignment and be involved
in the decision.
We also need to run some layoff scenarios and see what schools would be impacted with and without
realignment. In the past realignment has served to stablilize the desegregation schools (also referred to as "racially
isolated") because realignment protects the more junior elementary teachers, who tend to be at those schools, from layoff.
That may be an advantage of realignment but there are certainly disadvantages.
At this point we are keeping
options open until we can present all of the relevant information to the Board in January.
Forwarded by
Mary Bock (South Parent) to Mpls Parents Forum (Yahoo group)
