BCPS cutting teachers' jobs

At least 27 teachers will be reassigned or laid off under a plan approved unanimously Monday by the Battle Creek Public Schools Board of Education.

The cut, representing about $1 million in savings to the district, saved jobs on the chopping block in a previous plan.

The staffing proposal, approved 5-0 as part of a finalized 2007-08 budget, will reassign 14.75 full-time equivalent positions to lower-paying positions and cut 12.75 full-time equivalents.

Officials haven't said which teachers will be affected.

Full-time equivalents cannot be translated to exact positions because some teachers work part-time.

Finance Director Deborah Nozicka said the plan would cover almost $1 million of a projected $3.9 million deficit for the 2007-08 school year.

Under Michigan law, the district cannot use for operating expenses any part of the $68.9 million bond proposal approved in May by voters.

"At the present time, there is not a sufficient number of positions available in which the excess number of teachers can be placed by the district," said Larry Yarger, assistant superintendent for human resources.

According to the plan, six probationary teaching positions, or those with less than four years service, will be allocated to elementary schools, increasing class sections to keep class sizes below 30. About 6.75 positions will be moved to substitute teaching services, and two more will be assigned to the Small Learning Communities program at Battle Creek Central High School.

The displaced positions, Yarger said, could be reinstated if summer retirement trends hold true to form.

This oversupply of teachers was caused, in part, by decreasing funds from federal, state and local entities, officials said. For the 2007-08 school year, according to numbers released by the school district, total grants decreased over $600,000, with state funding still up in the air thanks to the budget crunch.

Battle Creek, like other districts, also is facing flat enrollment projections. Enrollment was at 7,131 in 2006-07, and is expected to stay the same or dip slightly in 2007-08.

Administrators presented the plan to the board after last week proposing to cut about 17 positions. But Yarger, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Kathy Griffey and other administrators composed a plan that would use general fund dollars to save about five positions.

Many teachers received notice June 6 from human resources that they were being considered for cuts, but were then told the decision had been halted.

"We needed to step back and determine whether or not we were doing the best thing for the students and our teachers," Yarger said.

"It's unsettling, but I know the district is doing its best to save jobs," said second-year Wilson Elementary Academy teacher Brandon Coats, 27. "I'm hoping that I'm high up on the (reassignment) list, because I'd like to stay a part of the district."

"It would have been nice to know about these changes a little earlier," said Battle Creek Education Association President Terry Smith. "You want to know whether you'll be packing your things in a cupboard or cabinet or in a cardboard box. But we're encouraged that the district is working on this, and we look forward to working with them."

Smith said he would be meeting with Yarger today to discuss which teachers would be impacted.