These are taxing times for the employees of Portland Public Schools.  For many of you, these last two weeks have brought sad and worrisome tidings of unassignment, reduced hours or days, and displacement.  Receiving a notice telling you that you are unassigned can cause such terrible anguish, regardless of the number of times that you’ve gone through this process in the past.

PFTCE employees are facing another year of major cuts. Last summer saw huge numbers of laid-off Paraeducators and Educational Assistants, as well as smaller numbers of other classified positions.  If the phone calls I have received in the last two weeks are an indication, I anticipate that we will find that a different faction of employees will be most dramatically affected this year, after the dust settles.

We are seeing fewer Paraeducators unassignments this year; most are from Learning Centers.  However, the most staggering blow to our special ed personnel has been to the Paraeducator 1s, who are losing two and a half hours weekly.  Workday reductions have also blindsided our Therapeutic Intervention Coaches (TIC), who will see cuts of one hour per day, taking them from eight hours to seven hours.  These cutbacks are massive…13.5 days of lost wages for Para 1s and 27 days unpaid for the TICs.

Clerical staff members are also experiencing substantial losses.  Several of our year-round administrative secretarial positions are being cut from their 260-day status to 210-days….a painful loss of fifty days per year.  Secretaries and clerks at schools and central offices are being unassigned in seemingly record numbers, as well.

So, where do we go from here?  Towards the end of May, the reassignment and placement process will begin.  Michelle Batten and I will work closely with the staff of Human Resources, who, by the way, have also seen their numbers cut severely in the past month, to assure that placements are found for as many unassigned employees as possible.

This is an incredibly difficult process, for everyone involved.  There are so many layers to the task of reassigning, and some of you—who are not unassigned—may find yourselves affected by these placement procedures, as “bumping” may occur in some smaller classifications.

Step-by-step, unassignments and openings will be assessed, employees will be placed, and, unfortunately, layoffs will occur.  As we proceed through the weeks ahead, please keep in mind that there are hundreds of employees affected by this year’s budget shortfall, and PFTCE and HR are very aware of the pain that you will all be suffering, through these last five weeks of school.   If you have not been personally affected by a cut, you have friends and colleagues who are.

I pledge that you will not be forgotten in all of this uncertainty.  If you are currently unassigned, at some point in the next five weeks, you should hear from an HR staffer who will inform you of your employment status.  Please make certain that Human Resources, (503) 916-3544, has current contact information for you, particularly if you plan to move or be out of town over the summer months.

And, if—and this is a HUGE “IF”—the Operating Levy does not pass on May 17th, then the budget will experience even more slashing—perhaps, even a reduction in the school year.  In this worst-case scenario, I fear that any further reductions to the budget may be written in the blood of our classified employees.  As Portland Public Schools continues to remove the skeleton, piece-by-piece, that holds this District “body” together; I only wonder how long our schools can survive.

~B.