School offices to slice 225 jobs
Duplication cited with merged staffs
The unified school district expects to cut at least 225 central office jobs, and hundreds of staff were told this week they will need to reapply for their jobs as administrators focus on paring duplication in the merged district’s hub.
Many of the people who will be affected are mid- and upperlevel management employees whose assignments, since the city schools charter was surrendered two years ago, have included planning the merger that would eventually cost their jobs. The first round of positions — executive directors and directors — will be posted by midApril.
A second round of postings is expected by mid-May. Employees will have one week to apply for any opening.
Interim Supt. Dorsey Hopson said he thinks it is important to let people know as much as possible as soon as possible about the process and the number of cuts. “In my experience, if you don’t have information, people tend to make stuff up,” Hopson said Wednesday. “It’s very important for people to know this is what is going on and that none of the positions have been filled.”
On average, the lost jobs have
pay and benefits packages worth $85,000.
The mood at the offices on Hollywood and Avery was somber Wednesday.
“Everything is finally coming to a head,” said board member Chris Caldwell. “This is the reality of the situation, and reality hits hard sometimes.”
Caldwell praised the process and the assurance employees were given that their applications will be reviewed objectively.
“Based on the communication I’ve read, it looks to be fair, transparent and thoughtful in how it was handled,” Caldwell said. “If it is executed with fidelity, it should be a sound process and a fair process.”
The unified district will offer the Memphis City Schools severance package to employees of either district that are not selected to work in the system.
“I am proud of them for that,” said board member Kevin Woods. “That was not a requirement for them to do. In these economic times, this is going to be tough for the families affected by this.”
Last fall, the Transition Planning Commission recommended a 26 percent cut to the central office payroll, saving roughly $14.3 million a year in general fund salary expense.
“In building our budget for next year, we have taken 26 percent off everyone’s budget,” Hopson said.
“We’ve named the cabinet members. Each is in charge of building their own departments, designing them with what they think is the right number of staff. Once they are done designing, they will hire their direct-reports.”
He cautions that more than 225 jobs may be lost. “It just depends on which positions are cut,” he said. “Some of these positions have significant salaries. Obviously, the higher the salaries, the greater the savings.
“This is the first cut. If we go back over when we put our first draft together and don’t get what we need, it may be deeper than 26 percent. I don’t want people to think 26 percent is final.”
Cabinet members are: Hopson, Herchel Burton, Tim Setterlund, Laura Link, Roderick Richmond, Bill White, Pam Anstey, Hitesh Haria and Rich Valerga. Burton, Setterlund and Link are SCS employees; the others are from Memphis City Schools.
About 1,000 central office staff received a memo Tuesday from Hopson laying out the process and timeline for applying. Bar- ring unforeseen delays, the jobs will be filled by late June, in time for the first day of the merged district July 1.
Combined, the districts have about 650 central office staff members, including managers in charge of curriculum, food service, transportation, maintenance, special education and other districtwide services.
The numbers also include regional superintendents in the city system, support staff, including secretaries, switchboard operators and receptionists, but also plumbers, electricians, grounds workers and security personnel.
Several hundred other workers, whose salaries are paid by federal funds or grants, must also reapply — out of a sense of fairness, Hopson said.
The most duplication anywhere in the unified district is in the central offices, where there are now two departments for HR, IT, finance and so forth. “There is always going to be regret,” Woods said, “when you have people who are going to be displaced because of a duplication of services. When you look at the classroom, you’re going to need teachers as long as you have students.”
Hopson was not sure how the cuts will affect the physical need for space. The district is currently run from two former school buildings. He expects to present the school board an outline for central office square footage this month.
Today, the central office has staff in more than 500 job descriptions spread out over several buildings and transportation hubs. A consultant worked with Hopson and former superintendent John Aitken to standardize the descriptions.
Employees are encouraged to apply for no more than three positions and to “really think about which positions energize you and are the best fit for your skills and qualifications,” according to an eight-page list of FAQs.
Instead of being paid on a schedule based on years of service and degrees, the new jobs will have a pay range reflecting the pay scales of both districts.
For the most part, the initial round of openings will be limited to internal candidates, although employees have been told some positions may be posted externally from the beginning.
The district has set up an online portal for receiving applications.
Besides the application, each applicant is to include a cover letter and one-page resume.