Providence, Rhode Island Sending Pink Slips to All Teachers

Love those public service unions like the mouthy ones we are seeing in Wisconsin! We have another victim of the public service union and that is the Providence, Rhode Island School District--where we will probably see the next round of nitwit teachers proving why they have not business acting as educators (just like this lady in Wisconsin).

The Providence School District is broke. It's facing a $40 million shortfall, and no surprise to anyone, the district is unionized.

So what is the administrators doing about it? They are sending out pink slips to every teacher serving in the Providence School District.

From Projo.com

The school district plans to send out dismissal notices to every one of its 1,926 teachers, an unprecedented move that has union leaders up in arms.

In a letter sent to all teachers Tuesday, Supt. Tom Brady wrote that the Providence School Board on Thursday will vote on a resolution to dismiss every teacher, effective the last day of school.

In an e-mail sent to all teachers and School Department staff, Brady said, “We are forced to take this precautionary action by the March 1 deadline given the dire budget outline for the 2011-2012 school year in which we are projecting a near $40 million deficit for the district,” Brady wrote. “Since the full extent of the potential cuts to the school budget have yet to be determined, issuing a dismissal letter to all teachers was necessary to give the mayor, the School Board and the district maximum flexibility to consider every cost savings option, including reductions in staff.” State law requires that teachers be notified about potential changes to their employment status by March 1.

“To be clear about what this means,” Brady wrote, “this action gives the School Board the right to dismiss teachers as necessary, but not all teachers will actually be dismissed at the end of the school year.”

“This is beyond insane,” Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith said Tuesday night. “Let’s create the most chaos and the highest level of anxiety in a district where teachers are already under unbelievable stress. Now I know how the United States State Department felt on Dec. 7 , 1941.” That was the day the Japanese government bombed Pearl Harbor.

Love those unions and how they have jeopardized education by taking money from taxpayers to ensure expensive benefits, but like the lady from Wisconsin says, "it's for the children."