Teachers Oppose Elimination of Coordinators in White Plains
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A large contingent of teachers in the White Plains School District came out in force last week to support two longtime coordinators in the math and science departments who were slated to be eliminated as part of a structural administrative change in the district.
The teachers all wore red t-shirts with white letters with messages such as “We All Matter” and “Students Matter. Staff Matters.”
“The ripple effect of this has been felt by educators in all areas,” Sissi Johnson, a teacher in the district since 2008, told the Board of Education April 8. “Please reconsider this decision.”
However, the concerns of Johnson and the handful of other teachers who addressed the board fell on deaf ears as the board proceeded, without any discussion, to unanimously eliminate the positions of Science Coordinator Margaret (Meg) Doty and Math Coordinator Albert LaPorte, who combined have almost 50 years of experience, according to Kara McCormick Lyons, president of the White Plains Teachers Association.
“These are two individuals who have put in so many years in the district,” said McCormick Lyons, who noted Doty and LaPorte were not represented by the Teachers Association. “We’re a school community. They’re part of the fabric of that school community.”
McCormick Lyons said teachers did not learn that Doty and LaPorte were on the chopping block until mid-March and were hoping the coordinators could have been given “a transition year,” instead of being eliminated on July 15.
“A year of transition could have offered all key stakeholders the opportunity to contribute their thoughts and ideas,” she said. “Historically, we have had a real collaborative relationship with the district. The biggest shock is their expertise and insight could have been invaluable.”
John Hughes, a high school science teacher in his 28th year, agreed staff was caught off guard by the coordinator cuts and expressed concerns about the ability of a new hire in the newly established Director of Mathematics, Science, Engineering and CTE role to provide the necessary support to teachers in all those departments.
“We’re worried we’re going to lose that close support,” Hughes said, “and things will fall by the wayside in the way we run our classrooms.”
In an interview two days after the meeting, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Ricca maintained the restructuring of the coordinator positions was part of a long process, noting the coordinators being affected and the union representing administrators knew “months in advance” what was being considered.
“We wanted to make sure there was as much lead time as possible,” Ricca said. “The Board of Education is committed to supporting our colleagues in every way we can. It is a team effort in White Plains. The professionals in the classroom are the leaders of our programs every day. The administrative component is to support. Personalities are not considered when you think of these types of decisions. They are valued members of the educational community. Making changes is always very hard.”
With the district in a strong financial condition, Ricca stressed replacing the two coordinators with one individual was not motivated by money and said it was vital to make the moves now so the district can move forward with introducing some new programs for students.
“We can’t ask people in present positions who don’t have that experience to oversee new programming. In order to achieve that support we had to reconfigure how the administration is set,” Ricca explained. “It’s about the need of the district and the need of the programs. We’re always pushing on how we can do better and how we can do more. The timing of restructuring is never good. We’re trying to better serve our students in a more sustainable and efficient manner. It’s not on its face an effort to reduce costs, but anywhere we can find efficiencies we look for that.”
Lyons said she wants to ensure that her approximately 700 members “can perform optimally.”
“It is in the district’s right to restructure,” she said. “We want to make sure we have a seat at the table.”
This story was updated April 22 to correct a statement from Dr. Ricca where it was previously incorrectly reported that teachers were notified of the coordinators being eliminated months ago.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
