Sorry it took so long....
"Boston special education cuts found to be wrongful" by James Vaznis |
Globe Staff, August 10, 2012
In a ruling that could cost the Boston public schools about $2
million, a state arbitrator has determined that the School Committee
wrongfully laid off about four dozen clerical workers, potentially
contributing to a backlog of late reviews of special education plans for
thousands of students.
The clerks play a pivotal role in those reviews — entering data into
the computer system, scheduling meetings, and performing other tasks
that free time up for special education coordinators to talk each year
with teachers and parents about any changes to a student’s educational
plan, said union officials.
But in 2010, the School Committee adopted budget reductions that
called for cutting the number of special education clerks in half,
resulting in the loss of about 45 positions and causing the coordinators
to pick up the slack by working hours of unpaid overtime every week.
The reduction violated provisions of the Boston Teachers Union contract....
Everyone knows labor contract signings mean nothing. Executive compensation or bureaucrat pensions? Sacrosanct.
--more--"
