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Thomas To Recommend Cutting 50 Bus Drivers, Associate Superintendent, Dozens More Jobs; 200 Teachers Could Be Next
April 15, 2009
The Escambia School superintendent is calling for the elimination of about 128 district funded positions, including an associate superintendent and 50 bus drivers to save about $3.5 million. In addition, Superintendent Malcolm Thomas says that about 200 teaching positions will likely be eliminated.
Thomas will recommend that the yearly contract positions not be renewed, including that of Associate Superintendent for Public and Interagency Affairs Ronnie Arnold. The elimination of the associate superintendent’s position will save the district $103,930.
The superintendent will recommend the district drop 50 of 366 total school bus driver jobs to save nearly $1.2 million. Dozens of other district and administrative positions ranging from clerks and secretaries to mechanics will also be dropped.
The “Department Personnel Planning Document” that Thomas will present to the school board on April 21 generally serves to non-renew the annual contracts that expire June 30 on the positions.
Overall, the superintendent tasked each district level department to target the elimination of about 9 percent of their personnel budget. Thomas said the district must find a way to cut $28 million.
Some of the positions will become vacant due to retirements or resignations. Those that remain in the eliminated positions will have the option of applying for other jobs in the school district. Those with seniority and certification will likely be able to find another position in the district, Thomas said.
Those that will be required to apply for another school district job include Associate Superintendent Arnold, the man that has become familiar to Escambia residents as the district’s spokesman.
“Odds are, he’s going to have a job next year,” Thomas said about Arnold. “We just don’t know yet what he will be doing, other than he won’t be doing what he’s doing now.”
Many others in the eliminated district positions will be able to find jobs in the district, Thomas said, because they hold teacher certifications.
“We hope to minimize the number of people put out onto the street,” he told NorthEscambia.com. “I’m not thrilled about any of them. They are not numbers on a spreadsheet. They are somebody with a family.”
Further cuts will come in the Escambia School District with the elimination of about 200 teaching positions, Thomas said. Natural attrition through events like retirement will eliminate many of those personnel. The offer of an early retirement program will also be a part of the 200 jobs. For every long-term teacher that takes an early retirement, from 1.5 to 1.75 newer teaching jobs can be saved, the superintendent said, due to salary differences based upon length of service.
Comments
22 Responses to “Thomas To Recommend Cutting 50 Bus Drivers, Associate Superintendent, Dozens More Jobs; 200 Teachers Could Be Next”
Ok, I made my point. Like I said after reading the comments, how can cutting the budget for Education be justified a budget which would include the bus drivers. My hat’s off to you. No, I could not drive a bus. Yes, teachers are suppose to have a planning period, sometimes they don’t get one. I know several teachers who have gone an entire year without one let alone two.
Well just to let you know, that bus drivers, have a very hard job. We are closed up on a bus with some time 62 elementary students and know one there but you. We don’t have a rest room down the hall way. I have been driving for 21 years and I love my children. I wouldn’t want to give up my job. I would n’t want to teach school but there is people that likes to do that, My hat is off to them. But I know , they can leave the class and go to the rest room and most of them at the high school level have 2 planning periods. Sometimes you are right– there might be 10 or less students on the buses but we travel from Bratt to Bay Sping or Nokomis or even Dogwood Park and also Bogia and also almost to 29 out Roach Rd, oh yes and if you haven’t ever went on these roads, then you should travel down Pine View road, worring about the log trucks. Going slow enough for the safety of the children. YOU can also drive a school bus. I can give you the number just right back. But , it was also stated that the secreary for the superienent make 92 thousand, cut that. You also need to know that elementary and High schoolers ride together, sometimes it can be very crowed- Afternoon elementary by there selfs. We try to kept our students safe, we drive throught the bad weather.
After reading some of these comments with misspelled words and incorrect grammar usage, I wonder how cutting education and teachers can be justified. As I enter college to become a teacher and married to one of those teachers who will loose their job June 30th, I can only ask myself one question. Why do I want to teach children when their parents and society does not care about the quality of education they receive. I bet most of you who complain about teachers salaries have never known a teacher. I bet you don’t know how much teachers spend of their own money on their students and classrooms. Or that those teachers have to continue their education at their own expense. When a teacher gets a degree that is not the end of their education requirements, they have to continue taking classes to continue teaching. So before you complain about paying a teacher $46,000 a year, ask yourself, would you do it for any less pay? Consider Mr. Thomas’ job and all his responsibilities why should he make any less than a mayor or County Administrator? His job is extremely important. Would any of you spend 6 hours a day closed up in a room with 25 kids? Could you go all day sometimes with out even a bathroom break?
If you think the lottery is a waste, how about asking the many students that are going to college all thanks to Bright Futures scholarships–like myself. Although the money isn’t going where you think it should be, don’t feel as if it is a total drain.
To Kim……I think we should be saying shame on the voters of Florida that voted the lottery in.Even under the guise of “helping education woes”,the public was,once again,duped.That does not mean that we get to blame anyone but ourselves,because as of today,it’s still our right and privilege to vote our conscience.For the record,my husband and I did vote our conscience….we voted against.
‘Thomas will recommend that the yearly contract positions not be renewed, including that of Associate Superintendent for Public and Interagency Affairs Ronnie Arnold. The elimination of the associate superintendent’s position will save the district $103,930.”
Call me dumb, but is this saying that this man was making $103,930 a year?
Does that mean that the “Superintendent” is making more than that?
No wonder schools are closing.
I think Mr. Thomas was dealt a bad hand by the economy. I do not know him, but I am sure he has lost countless nights of sleep over all of the budget cuts he has faced. Teacher cuts and school closings are very big decisions , but if you watch the news you will see that Escambia County is NOT the only place closing schools and cutting corners. If my employer told me I had to take a 40% pay cut I would have to trim my budget somewhere. That is the equivilent of what Mr. Thomas is facing.
You people DO NOT read!!! Mr. Thomas has said 1000 times that the FTE which means students will decrease by 800 students this year and 900 next year. That is something he CAN NOT controll. If you take that figure and the closures of the schools you get teacher cuts which he said most would happen through RETIREMENT meaning very few if any teachers would lose thier jobs all which would be annual contract teachers. In addition, all first 3 year teachers have no contracts and some are released each and every year.
Way to go ab, the cuts needs to start in house. But I bet we will never see that. I believe that every administrator that is hollering to cut pay or cut jobs to save money, needs to start with their own. Cutting teachers is stupid!!! Who does that help, surely not the students. This means doubling up in classrooms where our children aren’t getting the one on one help they might need to understand what they are being taught, yet they want to raise the roof, when our student dont do well on FCAT which is a joke in itself.
I have an idea. Can we start the layoffs with the teacher who used the “n” word?? Or how about the teacher who constantly degrades her students & talks down to them like they are dogs?? I witnessed this myself a couple of weeks ago at an extracirricular activity! How about the coaches who curse at their players in an attempt to “motivate” them to win a game??
This sounds like an opportunity to trim off some extra fat & do away with some of the people who don’t pull their weight. Or those who have no values & don’t truly care for the students.
But we all know that’s not the way it will happen–all of these people have rights, tenure & seniority. It’s sad that some good, honest people will probably lose their jobs. This is sad indeed but apparently necessary.
Oh–and whoever recommended Mr. Thomas take a 50% pay cut is way off base. No educated person who is competent enough to perform the duties of superintendent will work for $60k/year. Take a long hard look at the decisions he’s already been faced with this year, whether you agree with them or not. Also take a look at how his name has been slandered because of that–even here on this website. Besides, the man looks like he’s aged 10 years since he took the position. It is extremely stressful to work under budget constraints & shortages! I certainly wouldn’t do the job for $60k but that’s just me—an educated, competent Christian person who has worked in Corporate America for many years. The term “you get what you pay for” is ringing in my ear right now. If you want that caliber of person making the decisions, go ahead & write him a letter & suggest that. You obviously have no clue about managing a budget to make an organization run at optimal performance.
I think all of this school closer is a crazy idea.
Thomas needs to have the bridges on Hwy 4 examined for their durability after all there will be many more buses crossing them and they are in pretty bad shape and yet he wants YOUR kids and MINE NOT HIS to cross them at least 2 times a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree on cutting out a lot of things with the county, like all government jobs there is a lot of waste,but lets stop that spending before we cut teachers and other IMPORTANT jobs rather than the study of the reason cats meow(sorry got a little carried away) but you know what I mean.
I have to wonder what is in the school closings for Thomas?????????
He does not have our kids best interest at heart I don’t care what he says!!!!
Wake up North Escambia County, were getting the screws put to us AGAIN!!!!!!!
Where is all the so called lottery benefits to our schools? Just away to sugar coat gambling and cause people to waste their hard earned money!!!! Shame on the State of Florida!!!!
Putting people on the street to have to draw welfare or unemployment still comes from our taxes, so there is no real savings to just cut jobs even if they look good on your balance sheet, becuase now they end up on the biggest balance sheet of them all, the Obama Stimulis package, and that is one bill we cannot ever finish paying for. So be careful what you wish for. A bird in the hand is better than 2 in the bush.
I don’t know how true this is, and I do not know how to find out if it is true. I have heard that bus aids on district handicap buses go to a centralized place and wait to see if they need any sub-aids for that day. Most of the time the driver and transportation have already arranged for a sub-driver (via phone) that morning. The aids who sit and wait for that hour are able to turn in time and get paid for 4 hours (if I was told correct info.) Again, I am not sure of these facts, so I hope someone will look into it and if this is happening, STOP IT!!!
When I touch the submit key I’m gonna hide. I see buses leave school every day with less than 6 children on board,some with as little as 2. Administrative assistants can be trimmed by a bunch. It used to be a good idea to get a job with the local system and have some benefits. Good Idea. Now money is short and the axe has to fall. You only have to be involved with the school system or the county government at any level to see the waste that goes on each day. Now if Mr Thomas really wants to get serious about making cuts then he only needs to look in the offices where he reports to work every day. Lots of assistants need to be trimmed there. It will be interesting to see what cuts are implemented for the next school year.
They created 35 new jobs when they deleted 23 administrative jobs. They changed the name of the job description to make it look like it was deleted.
Mr. Thomas is doing the right thing by trimming his administrative staff because the district can’t sustain current levels of staffing due to the loss of students and revenue. Losing 900 students this year and possibly another 800 next year are numbers that have to be reckoned with today. If there is a certifiable position requirement which justifies the cost, employ someone to fill the job. Otherwise I would like to believe that the district is not or would not become a “welfare” agency which keeps un-needed positions just to give someone employment at the public’s expense regardless of the overall economic climate
Curious to know how many administrative employees are there in the district. I was under the impression school teachers were the most important members at any school yet they want to cut 200 of them. Surely there’s more fat that could go in admin area (with the corresponding cost saving) before those teachers get the axe.
To the person in one of these comments, you are right. Cut Pay untill we get out of this sorry mess.
A follower will always follow
A leader will always lead
GLAD THE LOTTERY IS DOING WHAT IT SAY IT WOULD DO!
They always promise great things from these worldly games of losing your money. Oh much of the lottery will go toward education! Where is the money now?
I’m glad we have someone in there who can make the tough decisions to keep within the budget. Yes, its tough when a person loses his/her job, (been there, done that) but its not the end of the world. No one can blame Superintendant Thomas for doing his job.
While, Superintendant Malcolm Thomas is ruining families with homes, bills and families by cutting their jobs why don’t he agree to take a pay cut in his salary. Cut his pay in half and the school system will save approximately $60,000 if not more.