May 6, 2009 in City

Teachers ponder future with pink slips looming

More than 100 in Spokane district expecting layoff notices

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Gail Madsen’s anxiety about whether she’ll have a teaching job next year is seeping into the classroom, she says, and that’s tough for the kids.

“The kids are very in tune with moods,” the sixth-grade teacher said. “They can sense stress.”

Madsen, who teaches at Spokane’s Jefferson Elementary School, and other teachers in the same situation are on edge a little more, less focused and maybe not as patient or chipper, she said.

“It’s this limbo thing,” Madsen, 40, said. “We can’t move in any direction.”

Madsen is among more than 100 Spokane Public Schools teachers told Monday to expect pink slips next Tuesday, with the caveat that those pieces of paper could turn out to be meaningless. Officials say most or all of the teachers will be asked to return for the 2009-’10 school year, but the district’s budget remains uncertain.

“Will I get recalled? Do I have to pack up my room at the end of the year? I’d rather know now if I was not going to have a job,” Madsen said. “I don’t know when we will know. I try not to think about it.”

Teachers are getting the pink slips because of a May 15 union contract deadline. But the state budget – and how federal stimulus money will be used – remain unknown, officials said.

“No matter what, everyone is suffering greatly,” said Maureen Ramos, Spokane Education Association president. “People with families who have worked so hard for their career are being told they might not have a job.”

Madsen, a first-year teacher, said she was “thrilled to get the job” last year. “If I get laid off, I don’t know what I will do. I know I would probably have to change my career.”

Madsen said she and her husband just finished building a house, and they have a daughter and two grandchildren here. She wouldn’t move for another job, she said.

Shannon Salyer, a special-education teacher at Shadle Park High School, will also receive the layoff notice.

“I’m single. I’m realistically looking at selling my home and relocating. Those are big stressors for me,” said Salyer. “So they tell you, ‘You are going to be laid off,’ then two days before school starts, they say, ‘Oh, you can have your job back,’ ” Salyer said. “Meanwhile, you have been trying to move forward, maybe just accepted another job. What do you do?”

Salyer wants to stay in Spokane but is considering going to Texas to find a teaching job.

Teaching positions locally are hard to come by because four nearby colleges and universities have education programs that produce quality graduates.

Also, many people from out of state seek jobs here because of the “high quality of the district,” said Spokane Public Schools spokeswoman Terren Roloff.

Ramos said 3,000 to 6,000 teachers are projected to lose their jobs in Washington, so the job market will be tight statewide. Only specialists such as speech pathologists or special-education teachers are in demand. Sacajawea Middle School teacher Carlos Sotolongo was hired three years ago. He’s expecting to receive a layoff notice, too, he said. The 55-year-old moved to Spokane after a 22-year career with Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

“I grew up poor. I live in a nice home now, but it can all change in a moment’s time. You don’t believe it will happen to you until it does,” Sotolongo said. “It’s like watching a movie that you’re in, but you just can’t believe it.”

Contact Jody Lawrence-Turner at jodyl@spokesman.com or (509) 459-5593.

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Five comments on this story so far. Add yours!

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  spoketucky on May 06 at 7:33 a.m.

  “High quality of the district.” That coming from the mouthpiece of District 81, Terren Roloff.

  As an educator myself, I don't count a district as high quality that has a 30% dropout rate. I don't count a district as high quality where NONE of their high schools made adequate yearly progress as measured by No Child Left Behind.

  District 81 has been bleeding enrollment for years, which has led to reduced funding, but the leadership cadre did nothing to reduce their deficits prior to this economic downturn. Their budget problems are systemic and will remain so regardless of what happens with the economy. They've been granted what amount to bridge loans for several years to make up for the shortfall but somehow they still don't realize less students equals less money equals less personnel and programs.

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  Ninch on May 06 at 11:28 a.m.

  Seems like those teachers and counselors who put their anxieties onto students should be fired now and not later. When are these educators going to start acting as the professionals they are supposed to be rather than looking at their chosen vocation as only a “job?” Maybe belonging to a “union” shuts their eyes to their responsibilities involved in teaching children.

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  spoketucky on May 06 at 5:05 p.m.

  ninch: Thanks for seizing the opportunity to display your unexamined distaste for organized labor. Did you get that from Rush, or was it Hannity? The next time you get a paid vacation or time and a half for overtime, thank us “union” members.

  I doubt you've ever taught so you would never understand the relationship that exists between teacher and student. Believe it or not, they care about us because they can tell we care about them. It's called empathy and judging from your acerbic tone, you could use a hefty dose. Have you taken the time to explain to them why they are being made to suffer for the irresponsible actions of millions of adults? If so, how did you rationalize rewarding those who caused the economic mess while saddling them with an enormous debt, one they'll be less able to repay because their educational opportunity is being gutted?

  Think next time before you type. Or maybe re-enroll in one of my Language Arts classes and I'll try to help you gain critical thinking capacities.

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