What Will Happen To Carver/Century, Ernest Ward And Bratt Jobs?

March 18, 2009

The work is scheduled to begin today to begin the closure process at Carver/Century K-8 School and find jobs for teachers and staff in a district that is facing a $30 million shortfall and cuts that could mean the loss of nine percent of district jobs.

With the closure of Carver/Century, Superintendent Malcolm Thomas knows he will save money on positions like the school’s principal, curriculum coordinator, cafeteria staff and office staff. Most, or even all of them, might be moved into open positions elsewhere in the district.

The school district’s human resources department will take on the job of finding jobs for the school’s other staff and teachers. In most situations, tenured Carver/Century teachers with several years on the job and certification in their field will land  a job at another school, and those criteria will ensure that a teacher at a school like Ernest Ward Middle School or Bratt Elementary School will retain their job.

Additionally, some district level positions will be eliminated, pushing current administrators back into the classroom.

Those factors, Thomas said, could be a problem for non-tenured teachers without certification.

“I don’t know how many from Carver/Century or elsewhere in the district may loose their jobs,” Thomas said. Many positions will be lost by attrition — teachers that might retire, move or resign.

“But closing Carver/Century and another Pensacola school will save some jobs,” Thomas said. “I may never know how many jobs were saved, but it will save jobs.” The district has not named the other Pensacola school to be closed, but Thomas said it is likely to be Edgewater or Navy Point elementary school.

There has been recent discussion in North Escambia about closing Ernest Ward Middle School and moving the students to Molino Park Elementary, which was originally constructed as a K-8 School. Thomas said there is not enough room at Molino Park to house the EWMS student population. However, the possibility exists of rezoning some students from Cantonment north to Molino Park in the future, he said.

Thomas also expressed his thoughts about the Carver/Century closure following Tuesday night’s school board meeting.

Many opponents of closing Carver/Century said that without a school, Century would be unable to attract business or industry. That is an argument that Thomas does not buy.

“What better tool for economic development — you build here and we’ll send your students to the best schools in the county,” he said. “That is a great economic development tool. A CEO wants to know where his children will go to school. Sending the CEO’s children to the best schools in Escambia County will be a great selling point.”

Regardless of what happens, Thomas said the district will work to keep students and employee jobs at the forefront of the district’s goals.

As for the future, Thomas said the possibility of reopening Carver/Century would always be there as long as the school district owned the property.

“Who knows? In five years, Century might have new industry and growth, and we might look at reopening the school,” he said.

Comments

3 Responses to “What Will Happen To Carver/Century, Ernest Ward And Bratt Jobs?”

  1. Think on March 19th, 2009 9:14 pm

    Could the students who attend our schools from Alabama be a contibuting factor to our money situation?

  2. Ruth on March 19th, 2009 7:52 pm

    What a joke! Buildings that sit unused tend to fall to ruins. They become eyesores, they become subject to vandals, and they cost the tax payers more in the long run. In five years the Escambia School District wont be openning the Craver/Century school insist they will be openning bids to have it toren down. How sad! Funny part is I wasn’t born or raised in this state and I feel more for the students and the history of the area then the school board! I repeat, what a joke!

  3. onlooker on March 19th, 2009 12:32 pm

    Ihave been following this story closely, as I have “a dog in this hunt”. How can Mrm Thomas say that he has no idea how many jobs or how much money the closing of Carver will save. If he does not know the answer to these questions already, then he is not the so called homework doer and straight talker that most in the district administration say he is and it would seem that this whole closing deal is way more than a money issue! ????

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News