Budget cuts loom over upcoming Boston school year

Under seniority rules, students stand to lose a host of diverse educators

Re “Boston schools bracing for cuts: Majority of them are set to lose staff; inflation, declining enrollment at play” (Metro, Mar 27): In Boston Public Schools’ efforts to better serve our highest-needs students, the district is forgetting another crucial resource that’s necessary for their success: diverse educators.

The Joint Committee on Education recently released the Educator Diversity Act, which would increase teacher diversity in schools through pipeline and teacher development. Though this would mark amazing progress in diversifying the teaching workforce, it does not consider protective measures to retain these educators when budget-induced layoffs occur.

The method of “last in, first out,” which lays off teachers on the basis of seniority, threatens to undo any progress made by the EDA. Since earlier-career educators are disproportionately diverse, this process would harm progress already made.

As layoffs proliferate around Massachusetts, our most vulnerable students face the possibility of losing high-quality, diverse educators, greatly harming their success, which is positively affected by having diversity of background, identity, culture, and language at the front of the classroom.

If we do not prioritize retention of these diverse educators, there will be little incentive for more diverse educators to enter the classroom. Legislators must include language in the EDA that requires districts to consider other factors in addition to seniority when determining layoffs due to budgets. LISA LAZARE Executive director Educators for Excellence - Boston Boston

There will be little incentive for more diverse educators to enter the classroom.

The Boston chapter of Educators for Excellence serves Massachusetts.