I found out a few weeks ago that the local School Board Office has proposed to cut the 'Professional Development Fund Administrator" job next year, a half-time position I currently hold! This is part of the "Savings Plan" to pay for a negotiated CUPE wage settlement. I am left wondering if the folks who made this decision actually know what this job involves and how important it is to teacher Pro-D in our school district. Among other things, it involves coordinating PD activities throughout the year, organizing a big conference, and working with teacher applicants and groups on funding support for workshops, PD events, and conferences. Our PD Fund is set with specific supports for our rural school teachers and a system that allows applicants to travel out-of-district. All of these functions will be at stake if the position is cut.
What were they thinking? Some possibilities come to mind:
I'd love to find out! I guess either way this turns out I'll need to find a positive way forward... a) the position remains and all my intense learning in the first year at the job will not be in vain, or b) the position is cut and I get to go back to full time teaching which will reduce my work hours and stress considerably. I very much enjoy the work and the partnerships across the district, but it has been far more than a half-time position over the last year.
I have described what this position involves at http://pgdta.ca/pro-d.
Our SD57 Fund consists of $150 per member ($109,500) plus a half-time position ($40,500) = $151K for 730 teachers.
I really like the way SD27 Cariboo-Chilcotin has set up their PD Fund: $121,500 placed in Fund (part of which pays for a PD leadership position), plus a bank of 160 TTOC (sub teacher) days (value of $49,920) = $171K for 340 teachers.
What were they thinking? Some possibilities come to mind:
- they don't know what the job involves or weren't thinking about this when the decision was made -- an opportunity to inform and dialogue I suppose
- they do know but think that the work will continue by a yet-to-be determined group of volunteers in the future, or that this work does not need to be done
- they do know but would like to remove this area of contractual responsibility from teachers (professional autonomy over PD and the teacher association's direction of the Fund)
I'd love to find out! I guess either way this turns out I'll need to find a positive way forward... a) the position remains and all my intense learning in the first year at the job will not be in vain, or b) the position is cut and I get to go back to full time teaching which will reduce my work hours and stress considerably. I very much enjoy the work and the partnerships across the district, but it has been far more than a half-time position over the last year.
I have described what this position involves at http://pgdta.ca/pro-d.
Our SD57 Fund consists of $150 per member ($109,500) plus a half-time position ($40,500) = $151K for 730 teachers.
I really like the way SD27 Cariboo-Chilcotin has set up their PD Fund: $121,500 placed in Fund (part of which pays for a PD leadership position), plus a bank of 160 TTOC (sub teacher) days (value of $49,920) = $171K for 340 teachers.
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