The life of some Socorro and Canutilo Independent School employees was detained late last week as he received a piece of paper, informing them that their contracts would not be renewed after the school year.
Some of those employees who are fired include music teachers at the Socorro ISD secondary school and registered nurses from Canutillo ISD. Several SISD employees who received notifications on Friday declined to comment at that time, saying that they would first consult their teaching unions.
Socorro ISD employees would not yet reveal how many employees were fired or how much more would be affected. The area plans to give updates “when he presents the final list of affected employees on the board,” said Daniel Escobar, CEO for communications in the field. The next regularly planned board meeting is April 16, but it is unclear whether a meeting can be convened earlier.
In February, the Socorro ISD board voted to fire about 300 employees, remove initial programs for fine arts, and increase the size of classes in an attempt to reduce the area by $ 38 million.
Initially, Socorro ISD said it would notify the employees concerned that their contracts would not be renewed by April 1, but the area extended the deadline to see how much they would take an incentive of $ 2500 to retire or resign voluntarily. Employees had to qualify until Monday.
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The contracts of most school employees are 12 months long and end on June 30.
“We are deeply saddened by the dismissal notifications that have already been issued to our specialized teachers, and we share the disappointment that these circumstances have brought,” said Western Texas President Alliance Rosie Perez to El Paso Matters via text.
“At this challenging moment, it is our responsibility to stand together in solidarity and to offer the full support and resources needed to help those affected to navigate this next chapter with dignity and confidence.”
Perez said the organization focused on supporting members who have received dismissal notifications, such as providing application information for unemployment insurance and access to retirement.
The President of the US Federation of Sokoro Teachers Veronica Hernandez has said that most of the Union members who have received a notice are test employees who have been in the field for less than three years and may have their contracts to be withdrawn for no reason.
“They do not need a specific reason at all, even less, if you have situations such as district deficiency (budget). This is a good cause,” Hernandez told El Paso Matters.
She said the organization works with its lawyer to see how many of its members are affected and whether there are any non -inconsistent employees can do to keep their jobs.
Socorro’s AFT also works with teachers to help them get their special educational certification, probably allows them to take new positions in the field.
“Several teachers have expressed that they are ready to take this test next month,” Hernandez said. “So, we may be able to save a couple there.”
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Canutilo ISD cuts registered nurses
The Canutilo ISD Council voted in March to dismiss employees and reduce programs to deal with the estimated $ 5.8 million deficit for the next school year. The area did not specify how many employees would be affected.
Canutilo ISD employees have not answered EL PASO MATTERS questions about cuts.
Some of those who have received dismissal notifications have discussed whether it is worth working for the rest of the school year, knowing that they will not have a job in the area after the summer.
“I’m going back to the kids because I know they need me. I have so many children with chronic illnesses. I have children with asthma, seizures, diabetes, so I’m coming for them, but I’m devastated, I told El Passo.
Canutillo ISD did not give a deadline for notifying employees, but will have to do so before approved contracts for the next school year, which usually happens in April or May.
Canutillo ISD plans to reduce the number of registered nurses, which only needs three for all 10 of its campuses and hire licensed professional nurses – or LVN – to be prone to students.
LVN usually requires less education and can practice as school nurses under the supervision of a registered nurse, according to the Texas Council on Nurses.
On April 3, Canutilo ISD publishes a job list for seven LVN positions in multiple campuses.
Once the positions are filled, each campus will have either a registered nurse or a LVN on duty, district staff said in March.
The school board also voted to eliminate the position of the nurse’s coordinator, who was responsible for supervision of nurses and the implementation of health programs.
Some nurses who were dealing with that El Paso Matters were concerned that the quality of care was receiving will be affected without sufficiently registered nurses to control.
“The way they plan to do this is to have RN in another campus, there is no way to be closely controlled,” a Nurse of Canutilo Isd said in an interview.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Socorro ISD, Canutilo ISD gets dismissal notifications