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Schools

Clarke County Board of Education reviews use of lay-off policy

School officials study whether Superintendent Phillip Lanoue had authority to lay-off two teachers and eliminate a computer business class at district middle schools.

officials on Thursday asked for more time to consider whether Superintendent Philip Lanoue did or didn't. Did he properly follow an employee layoff policy, which eliminated a vocational business program in the district's middle schools? or not? 
Attorneys for teachers Fannie Smith, from , and Bisi Oyeyemi, of , each contested Lanoue's use of the policy. At separate employee hearings they said their positions were improperly terminated from popular programs that helped teach students necessary computing and business skills. 
School officials initially upheld the policy, called a , as well as Oyeyemi's termination, but later asked to postpone making a decision after hearing Smith's case.
In addition to Oyeyemi and Smith, school officials agreed to eliminate 140 staff positions, following the school board's approval of the policy in April. School officials signed off on the plan as administrators discussed how best to plug a projected budget shortfall of $4 million for the upcoming school year.
Under the policy, the Superintendent has the authority to recommend employees be terminated in the event that there is a decline in local and state revenue, a drop off in student enrollment, or a change in curriculum. He then has until Aug. 1 to place them in an open position, provided they have the qualifying skills and experience neccessary for the job.
While the vocational business program helped teach children to type on a computer, navigate Excel, PowerPoint and other word processing programs, many students already know how to use the technology, and can learn how to use them in several other classes, according to Lanoue's Attorney, Malcolm McArthur.
“Business education really is no longer something we need to teach as a stand-alone course,” McArthur said. “Computer skills and other skills are already things that are being taught across all settings that are being imbedded and infused in programs all the way down to kindergarten.”
The elimination of the vocational business program will also allow the district to hire four new French language teachers in the middle school to support the implementation of a new international baccalaureate program, McArthur said.
“We're reallocating resources to a new program to help take the district in a new direction and launch something that's better for students,” McArthur said.
Neither teacher was terminated for job performance. In fact, both had received accolades and recognition from staff for their work in their classroom, according to school administrators who testified at each hearing.
Attorneys for Oyeyemi and Smith argued that finances didn't play a role in the decision to eliminate the program because the district wasn't going broke. In fact, the school district was able to report a savings of $8 million, despite receiving less state and local revenue, they said.  
“We would contend it's not a reduction in force, because they are simply trading out these vocational education teachers for French teachers,” said Janet Hill, Oyeyemi's attorney. “We believe there's no evidence there's a financial reason, no loss of funding, no loss of funds, rather Clarke County just decided they would spend their money on something else, since specifically they decided to teach French, instead of teaching middle school students how to use computers.”
The French teachers are needed as part of larger plan the district began last year to implement an international baccalaureate program at all four middle schools, according to McArthur. Without the foreign language program, the school district wouldn't be able to receive IB accreditation, he said.
To become an IB accredited school, students must take two language courses, and more teachers are needed to offer every student a full 50-hour course, Lanoue said.
Adding the IB program also has a greater potential to help students be successful than does the vocational business class, he said. In an IB school, all students will receive more rigorous instruction in the areas of math, science, social studies, foreign language and English. They will also receive instruction in four other subject areas, participate in community service activities and complete an individual, end-of-year project.
“We certainly saw where (cutting the vocational business program) made a lot of sense for the IB program, and we needed to do that for the larger picture,” Lanoue said.
Teachers in the IB program will also be required to provide students with 50 hours of technology instruction, while media specialists and other teachers would be responsible for teaching the same skills once taught by vocational business teachers, he said.
Still, the district hasn't completely mapped out exactly how every skill will be delivered in every school, and some students who lack access to computers may be affected by the loss of the program, said John Beasley, Smith's attorney.
“There's no real plan and the people who are going to suffer in addition to the teachers who lost their jobs, are the students,” Beasley said.
As the district moves forward, it's imperative administrators evaluate programs that are out-dated or aren't serving children as well as they once were, attorney McArthur said.
“The case is about what is best for children and how we move our students ahead and prepare them for the 21st century, given the limitations we have with funding in other areas,” he said.














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