This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
Even though more than 700 teachers plan to retire or resign at the end of this school year, the School District says that it will still be forced to lay off others in the absence of new funding.
As of the beginning of May, 577 teachers had notified the District that they plan to retire this year and another 147 are resigning, according to a District spokesperson. The combined total of 724 teachers departing still falls far short of the 1,260 teaching positions District officials say they must eliminate next fall.
But the number of teachers leaving voluntarily is likely to climb because about 1,000 teachers who are eligible still have until May 31, the day the District’s budget is adopted, to sign up for the early retirement program now being offered. The District’s retirement tally to date includes all teachers, not just the ones signing up for early retirement.
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan says the District’s figure of 1,260 teaching positions to be eliminated is still "speculation" because school-based budgets are still "in flux."
"We are waiting for harder data to come from [Human Resources] to speak factually to our members about numbers," Jordan said.
An email statement from the District reads:
"The District is hopeful that it can reduce involuntary layoffs to the lowest number possible and we will do everything in our power to make that happen, but it is unrealistic to think that layoffs can be avoided unless the District receives additional funding above the currently proposed levels from our sponsoring governments."
Jordan said that content specialty, not just length of service, will be a key determinant of who will be affected by layoffs. He said he was concerned about some statements from District officials implying that all new teachers are vulnerable.
A state budget plan released Tuesday by Pennsylvania House Republicans would provide about $310 million additional statewide for education, but what it would mean dollarwise for Philadelphia and what if anything would be restored in the District budget is unclear. The District’s plan for closing a $629 million budget gap is built on a number of tenuous assumptions, such as $75 million in givebacks from its unions and a $57 million reduction in the burden of charter school costs.