IPS’ Math Doesn’t Quite Add Up
Indianapolis Public Schools say declining enrollment and state budget cuts are forcing them to layoff more than 370 teachers in order to save nearly $20 million. While this may seem tragic, there’s something here that just doesn’t quite add up.
First of all, the total injustice and fundamental unfairness of teachers losing their jobs based on seniority and not experience is a crime in itself. However what’s more bizarre is the fact while IPS is touting layoffs on one hand on the hand it’s advertising for jobs.
I’ve embedded the listings here on the blog so you can see them for yourself. There are about 225 of them. What I can’t quite understand is that if IPS is laying off staff to save money, why is it advertising for openings? Now this isn’t to say that every laid off teacher is qualified for every opening, but you would think that someone would be a little more honest when speaking to the public about the true state of its financial situation.
For example, IPS says it’s laying off five social workers, which will save about $354,000 in salaries and benefits. However, in one of their most recent internal job postings, the school district has openings for three full-time social workers and two part-time social workers, that would cost about $284,000. So in reality, the cut is only about $70,000.
If you are going to paint a picture of gloom and doom, make sure you use colors that match, because right now, it just doesn’t look right.
