No Teacher Layoffs for Now, Says District

Something was missing from the Mercer Island School Board's May 12 agenda last night: teacher lay-offs.

Business Director Dean Mack said the school district will avoid sending Reduction In Force (RIF) notifications of "certificated" staff this year specifically due to the record-pace of fundraising organized under the "Bridge the Gap" campaign by the and the . He said the district wanted to keep the news low-key and not distract from the ongoing fundraising effort, whose resources will be dedicated to some of the very teachers the district decided not to dismiss.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Mack cautioned. "But the money raised by the community so far has allowed us to avoid sending those out."

According to a May 11 school district news release, the school boosters have raised nearly $800,000 and is on pace to surpass last year's fundraising total of $850,000. In recognition of the MISD Superintendent Gary Plano nominated parents and community members who serve on the Bridge the Gap task force to receive a Community Recognition Award at the annual Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) luncheon last weekend in Renton. The foundation set a goal of raising $1.2 million by June 30.

"Our students are so very lucky to live and go to school in a community where support for public education and excellent teachers is highly valued," Plano said.

State law requires school districts to notify teachers by May 15 of their employment status with the school district for the following school year. The decision to not send RIFs to Mercer Island teachers comes as the State Legislature is still in negotiations to hammer-out a final budget that from Mercer Island's budget for the 2011-12 school year. 

"We're legally required to (send RIF) before May 15," said acting Mercer Island School Board President Pat Braman. "This was the meeting when we would have seen that."

Instead of using a cautious approach and announcing teacher cuts at a school board meeting last night, Mercer Island schools Superintendent Gary Plano instead confidently introduced the : Kerida Millison, Julie Riccio and Sally Bartow.

"This is a very wonderful evening," he said, "because this is an evening that we can honor our teachers."

The decision caught some pleasantly by surprise. Reached by email, Mercer Island Council PTA volunteer Aleta Finnila, who is currently seeking appointment to a vacancy on the school board, cautioned that the Bridge the Gap target had not yet been met and cuts in state funding hadn't yet passed.

"Perhaps there are just enough teachers retiring/leaving or on one-year contracts so they don't have to officially lay-off anyone," she wrote. "So, we will have fewer teachers but we won't need to go through the RIF process. I haven't heard anything official about it."

The district's decision did not pertain other staff, such as school nurses, para-pros, librarians and other "classified" education support staff who are covered under separate contracts and aren't entitled to RIF notification. MISD's Mack said that he expected most classified staff would know if their contracts would be renewed sometime between June and July.

"You base your plan on what your know, and we think (the schools foundation) is going to reach their goal," he said. "If the the Mercer Island Schools Foundation reaches their goal, then we'll maintain our programming."

Tani Lindquist, who helps represent teachers and support staff in the school district as President of the , said the decision to retain all teachers was a great relief and credit was due to the community and the administration's thrifty budget savings. But Lindquist also said the timing is bittersweet because the contract for education support staff was still subject to reductions.

"There are still a number of classified employees who have non-continuing contracts," she said. "We're still concerned about staffing. But with the help of our great community support we've dodged many bullets before and hope to do so again."

(Ed Note: The sub-headline was changed and additional context was added to this story to reflect the fact that the current school fundraising effort has not ended. A minor change was also made clarifying the difference between "certificated" and "classified" employees was made.)