JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Over 700 teacher and staff positions could be eliminated next school year, the school district announced last week.
Duval Teachers Union (DTU) members met with the Duval County Public School HR department on Monday, one of the multiple meetings that could happen over the next couple of weeks as workers try to figure out the future of their careers.
DTU put in a notice to the superintendent for an “impact bargaining session” because when you are changing positions based on budgeting it has to be negotiated, and that led to Monday’s meeting.
Some jobs may be lost but there are also vacancies, so DTU will be working to help members find new jobs within the district.
In the same room where board members make decisions and meetings happen, about 30 to 40 teachers union members learned more about the possibility of losing their jobs after the district announced there could be hundreds of positions cut for the next school year.
Victoria Schultz, the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources of Duval Schools, talked with the group which is in the clerical sector.
Schultz did not do a one-on-one interview, but she did explain to the group that there is a goal to offer jobs.
There could be more meetings with other personnel groups but that will depend on budgets. Budget meetings begin next Monday for each principal. They will discuss enrollment for their school, review the budget and determine if they need to make cuts.
The workers were referred to as “surplus.”
DTU President Tammie Brooks-Evans explained what that means.
“Surplusing means you don’t have a position at your work site but they will find you another position in the district that you are qualified for,” Brooks-Evans said. “It’s been a challenge, especially with us dealing with things that come out of Tallahassee that directly impact the working condition of the employees that we represent.”
Brooks-Evans said decreased enrollment in traditional public schools and the loss of COVID-19 funding from the federal government made things challenging.
After the clerical union members met, teachers and paraprofessionals could meet next after budget discussions.
According to Brooks-Evans, the school district’s HR department will notify the employees that need to be surplused, have one-on-one meetings with them, offer them representation or if they are a DTU member, a representative can join them in the meeting as they discuss opportunities for different positions.