In the too-strange-to-be-true category, DISD is advertising on its website for 60 new teachers — right after laying off 350 teachers, according to the DMN. Talk about a PR nightmare, huh?
Now, there could be a logical reason for this; DISD's take on it is that more teachers voluntarily left the district than expected, and that deadline was later than the RIF deadline, so in effect, too many teachers were laid off. All fine and good, so far.
But the question being asked is why the laid-off teachers can't be given first shot at the new jobs. Of course, it's not too late for that to happen, and DISD says that terminated employees will be given priority for the jobs, when qualified. So it could very well be much ado about nothing, assuming that the laid-off teachers are given first crack at the posted jobs. And presumably, although I'm no labor lawyer, I would assume that DISD is legally required to post available jobs and evaluate all-comers as opposed to limiting applicants to a small pool.
It's just that the whole thing sounds bad, and the last thing DISD needs right now is more bad PR. Yet there it is — another argument for considering whether DISD is simply too big to be managed as-is.
Comments