Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Members of the Brandywine Community Board of Education made the first of what will likely be many tough decisions Monday night as it tries to make the best of a bad budget situation.

Where many school districts are facing similar concerns and similar tough decisions, Brandywine Community Schools made what they hope will be their only round of teacher layoffs with nothing short of integrity.

The cuts awaiting school districts statewide are more than just significant and scary – they are personal. And it makes sense that so many districts would find themselves hoping to bypass layoffs altogether. But doing so only seems to draw out the pain for those teachers who will be left looking for work next school year.

Because of an agreement through their teachers’ contract, Brandywine has to announce layoffs and give notice to teachers by the end of the month. Still, since the budget issues awaiting school districts became a hot topic after the state made significant cuts last year, Brandywine has been upfront about the sad truth that staff cuts are imminent.

Superintendent John Jarpe said teachers whose names were on the list were informed prior to Monday night’s meeting.

The board has yet to vote on the layoffs, which would make them official, and Jarpe said that things could always change before next Monday’s meeting. Still, the board and Jarpe should be commended for the way they have faced budgetary concerns head on. Two community forums will give the public a chance to voice their concerns and even offer suggestions, but there is no doubt about it – they may not all be fulfilled or heeded. Still, they will be heard.

The announcement of more than a dozen teacher layoffs was met with a somber silence. But it was due silence and it was a fitting silence.

This summer will likely be a sad one for many teachers throughout the state of Michigan and even across the state line.

As the halls go quiet with the absence of students who’ve graduated or left their school for the summer months, a stronger absence will be remembered in those teachers our educational systems will lose.