close
close

“Reduce force” – flat head warning light

“Reduce force” – flat head warning light

Over the last few months of contract negotiations between the Kalispell Public School System and the Kalispell Education Association, which is the teachers’ union in School District 5, there has been much discussion about the applicable deadline reduction. It’s mentioned in staff meetings, board meetings, and Superintendent Matt Jensen has mentioned it too many times to be included in budget balancing discussions.

As a third-year special education teacher in the district (previously even longer, as a long-term substitute, which does not count toward seniority), I am part of this reduction in effect. I and several teachers in my school building have already been told that we may not have a chance until the end of the school year because we have 9 months left on our contract. We represent the ONLY solution that local government officials in our district seem willing to consider in the fight to balance the budget with an outdated and incorrect financing formula.

To become a permanent teacher, you must complete your fourth year as a teacher and have good grades. I’m in my third year and my reputation is good, but it’s not enough anymore. Many of my colleagues who work hard and care deeply about students, despite their low pay and seemingly unnecessary status, do this too. Due to our unemployed status, we were offered no protection and very limited rights.

What strikes me every time I hear the phrase “reduction in force” is that it sounds cold, clinical and even easier to justify. When in fact they are people. People in our community, people with faces and families, people who have given and are giving the lowest salaries in AA schools in the state of Montana and by default in the United States. Talented, passionate and caring people who are clearly not in this profession expect to be paid. We do it because we care about students and are passionate about education. We put our whole hearts and lives into our students. Our goal is to support children and their families. Most likely because of a teacher who did the same for us in our youth.

I am asking the community, the union and the Kalispell Public Schools administration to recognize and acknowledge that we are amazing teachers who have made the sacrifice to be here. Please stop treating us as fodder for an educational and disposable machine for negotiation meetings. This is happening and happening all over the state, most recently in Missoula and Helena.
I keep hearing Superintendent Matt Jensen mention the importance of balancing the district’s budget, and I understand that and actually appreciate it, but what about our budget? The take-home pay after deducting so-called “benefits” from my monthly paycheck is just $1,800 a month. And this as a fourth-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree in special education and additional credits in master’s studies. I want to know if my budget also matters to the superintendent? I have a family and a mortgage (which costs more than I earn). I work just six blocks from the school where I teach.

Many of my friends have multiple roommates, are forced to continue living in their parents’ basement, and/or are barely getting by. All this while they potentially have crippling debt simply because of the college degree required to do the job they were hired to do. Some were even hired this year, but were told they were expendable and would likely be terminated in December (just in time for the holidays).

And Superintendent Jensen’s plan after firing over 40 teachers? He wants to have 30 students in EACH class at the high school level. He recently said Flathead and Glacier high schools would bear the brunt of it. As a parent of three high school students in the district, this is disturbing! This is especially true since the state certificates of both schools point to the number of highly qualified teachers and small classes as two of our significant strengths.

Our commune’s budget has been in the red for a long time. So why continue to hire teachers only to be told a month later that they will most likely be fired? Why continue to be asked to volunteer for all the unattended and unpaid roles we perform in school if we are not valued and safe?

Remember that we are human and we matter the next time someone says “power down.” They don’t cut us because we’re not good at our job, don’t deserve a living wage, or because we don’t show up every day to work hard and support students. We are treated as expendable because we are an “easy” and “temporary” solution to a problem that has existed for years and no one is willing to admit it or be creative in solving it. And while part-time teachers will be affected, it’s actually the students who will feel it and ultimately suffer, and that should worry us all.

Sarah Lamb lives in Kalispell.