April 11, 2008
By MARIA ELENA BACA, Star Tribune
Every day for the past 11 years, chemical health specialist Karin Jax has met with high school students who struggle with drug use. She's reassured and advised parents, offered resources to teachers and led groups so recovering students can help each other at the Robbinsdale district's now-closed Sober School, at Armstrong High School and, most recently, at Cooper.
But as this school year winds down, Jax, whose position is on a licensed teacher's contract, will be looking for a job.
In order to address declining enrollment and to cut $5.4 million from its budget, the Robbinsdale district is cutting 94 teaching positions, the district announced Friday. Five of those positions -- Jax and two chemical health colleagues, a music therapist and an elementary art specialist -- are continuing contract, or tenured, teachers.
Jax said she knew since last fall if the levy request didn't pass that their program might be in trouble.
"After being in the district 10 years I was feeling very stable," she said. "Going into my 11th year I was getting very nervous."
Last fall, voters rejected a 10-year, $23 million operating levy. The district also is cutting from administration, operations, athletics, activities and elsewhere.
Robbinsdale Superintendent Stan Mack called Friday "a sad day" and described a "broken" education funding system.
"It is a price we will pay into the future for failing our children now," he said Friday afternoon. "We have a system that allows a decision at the legislative level and government level to allow -- without a referendum -- the building of a baseball stadium for billionaire owners and for millionaire players, without the public vote, and we have to beg to have dollars to educate our children. There is something desperately wrong with that system."
Cuts by program area
Jax's job was cut because the district's chemical health program was eliminated. Similarly, the district has cut its art and special-education music therapy programs. An additional 14 teachers were able to take advantage of additional licensure to secure positions within the district. In other areas, the German program at Armstrong was cut, both because of low enrollment numbers and because the district did not replace a retiring teacher.
While other metro-area districts are laying off teachers because of budget cuts and declining enrollment, only Mounds View has tenured teachers on the "unrequested leave" list. One of them, a family and consumer science teacher, had her subject eliminated; two others were in talks with the district over license issues and likely will be reinstated, said John Ward, the district's director of human resources and school operations.
Nevertheless, with three teachers and 11 learning resource teachers (a different contract category) getting pink slips, Ward noted that this year marked the fewest people on the cut list in his memory.
Minneapolis and St. Paul are making plans to cut $13 million and $10 million, respectively, from next year's budgets, and Anoka-Hennepin and Osseo's budget-related cuts will affect only probationary teachers.
A few of the still-growing districts aren't making any staff cuts. Elk River has seen enrollment increases of at least 3 percent, or 300 students, in recent years, but for next year is projecting only a 1.5 percent jump.
Superintendent Mark Bezek faulted a slowing economy and increasing home foreclosures. "As the economy slips we're getting a little nervous about that," he said.
In the fall, the district will have to renew an excess levy, and Bezek is uneasy about its prospects in a tough tax climate and in a presidential election year. If it doesn't pass, the district will face a $2 million cut next year, he said. That's 20 to 25 teaching jobs.
In Robbinsdale, the tenured teachers will have an opportunity to appeal their termination; the school board will take final action in May. If positions become available, the district must reinstate them. The probationary teachers who lost jobs will be able to apply for new positions.
As for Jax, she's thinking about the students she serves, who reacted with shock and disappointment.
"I can't just sit here and feel sorry for myself," she said. "I feel for all the families that will be affected, and also the students I work with that have come to rely on our expertise and support, and so I think it's a difficult time for all of us."
Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409