By the way principals at the elementary schools get paid around $109,000, at the middle schools $115,000 and at the high schools $138,000. Therefore, close a large high school that is run by one principal ($138,000) and divide it into 6 small schools with 6 principals ($838,000). That’s approximately $690,000 that can be used to reduce class size, provide supplies and material, to hire more school aides. If there’s going to be cuts, then consolidate all the small schools in the large campus high school. Make it where there would be 2-3 principals in a campus school instead of 6-7 principals. The city would save mmmmillionsssssssssss!

The UFT should also work along with the DOE to get rid of the teachers that were sent to the rubber room. Those teachers shouldn’t be getting paid indefinitely. The UFT should work an agreement out with the DOE that if a teacher is brought up on charges of misconduct, their cases will be completed within a year at the most. The teachers in the rubber rooms are the ones that are really costing the DOE a lot of money.

The DOE has given way too much power to principals. As long as the principals have this power,
the ATR situation will never change. More and more higher paid teachers will be cut with the excuse of budget problems and also the schools that the DOE closes. For every school that is closed, the DOE needs 4 to 5 principals to run the 4 or 5 smaller schools that they created upon a school closure. That’s where the DOE is really spending money. A principal is paid over $100,000 a year and even higher if they have years in. With each school closure, the DOE went from spending $100,000 on one principal’s salary to spending over 400 or $500,000 on having 4 or 5 principals sharing a building. Even though smaller schools are easier to manage, why don’t they have 2 principals run a larger school instead of closing it. Instead of closing a school why don’t they remove the principal that’s there.

Do they have a principals rubber room or an APR? Things need to change, but it should be across the board — which should include improved observations of principals. When a school receives a bonus for improved scores, a principal automatically gets a bonus too. The improvement in a school is because of the work done by the teachers — why should the principal receive a bonus?

The DOE should rescind some of the control and power they bestowed upon principals.

The freeze will be lifted by certification area by geographic area … special ed is a certification area … I suspect many certification areas (common branches, social studies, english, guidance etc.) will not be lifted until into the fall term.