Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 23, 1994 TAG: 9408260006
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Franklin and 16 other staff members will lose their jobs because the alternative education program is being revamped to meet state education standards and to use only teachers with certificates.
Only 12 of the 29 staff members, mostly teachers and aides, have been hired for the new school year.
Many teachers for the program for troubled youths do not have certificates or licenses from the state to teach the courses they have been teaching.
The state has certification standards to ensure that teachers have the academic background and expertise to teach a particular subject.
Ann Harman, executive for student services and alternative programs for the city schools, said some staff members have not been offered jobs because they either do not have certificates or could not obtain a certificate within two or three years.
But leaders of the Roanoke Education Association charged Monday that School Superintendent Wayne Harris and other top school administrators have broken a promise that the alternative education staff would have jobs for another year.
About 15 staff members attended a news conference that was organized to help build public support to get their jobs back.
Mercedes James, REA president, said many teachers and aides have lost their jobs and others have been forced to take jobs with lower pay.
James said the alternative education employees were told last fall that they would have two years to gain their certification and that the school system would earmark $30,000 to help pay tuition for their courses.
"These promises were made to myself and other REA leaders at separate meetings and in separate discussions," James said. "Now we find that more than half of them will not be rehired."
The school system's decision is a "terrible injustice done to conscientious and dedicated people" and they should be rehired, James said.
Gary Waldo, REA executive director, said he knows that a consultant's report recommends the revamping of the alternative education program, but the report recognizes the dedication and work of the staff.
"There is a human story here. These people are out of a job," Waldo said. "They deserve better."
He said the alternative education program has been treated like a stepchild and that the staff has been treated as second-class citizens.
Harris was unavailable for comment Monday, but Harman said the school system is trying to correct the problems cited by Waldo and the consultant.
As an initial step in revamping the program, Michael McIntosh was hired to be the administrator.
He is a former lead teacher in the Danville alternative education program. McIntosh interviewed the staff and helped choose who would be rehired.
Franklin did not apply for the administrator's post because it required a master's degree, which Franklin does not have.
He wanted to be a teacher, but he was not offered a position, he said.
Franklin and Peter Lewis, who helped found the alternative education program eight years ago, said the use of teachers with certificates never has been an issue.
They said the focus has been on having a staff that could work with the troubled youths and relate to them.
Some staff members at the news conference predicted that some students will be upset when they return to school next month and find many new teachers. The enrollment varies, but about 130 students attend daily.
Waldo said he never has heard of a school where the top administrator and two-thirds of the staff change in one year.
Harman said she is puzzled that the REA is upset by the decision to seek teachers with certificates for the alternative education program because it traditionally has fought to maintain high professional standards.
"Our concern here is what is best for the children. We are redesigning the program, not house cleaning," Harman said. "Our goal is to have a school and have it meet all state standards."
She said the school cannot meet the standards if it has teachers who have certificates in one subject but teach something else. She said some staff members are in this category.
Because the alternative education program is funded partially with federal money, Harman said staff members know they have only a one-year contract.
Harman said the school system hopes to complete interviews for the remaining vacancies by Friday. Roanoke's schools open Sept.7.
The REA hopes to persuade the School Board to intervene and demand the rehiring of the staff members, but Waldo said that appears doubtful.
Wendy O'Neil, a former School Board member, attended the news conference and supported the alternative education staff.
O'Neil has close ties with Franklin. At a public hearing by City Council last spring, Franklin urged that O'Neil be reappointed to the School Board. But council replaced her despite Franklin's plea.
Later, O'Neil led the effort to rescind Harris' suspension of Franklin for failing to comply with administrative and financial regulations of the school system. Harris suspended Franklin for four days without pay, but the board overruled him.
On Monday, O'Neil said the board also had been told that those teachers without certificates would be given two years to obtain them.
by CNB