Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge TAs concerned about outsourcing proposal

Posted at
By 9 Comments

Christopher J. Marczak

Christopher J. Marczak

Note: This story was last updated at 7:28 p.m. Feb. 24.

Teaching assistants reacted with concern and indignation last week to a proposal to have a Michigan-based company provide substitute teachers, teaching assistants, and paraprofessionals to Oak Ridge Schools.

Chris Marczak, Oak Ridge Schools assistant superintendent, said the proposal to hire Professional Educational Services LLC, or PESG, would allow current employees to keep their jobs, save money, and help the school system comply with the reporting requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act. Marczak said there would be a negligible impact on TAs.

“The only thing that’s going to change is the name of your employer,” he said during a 2.5-hour meeting with teaching assistants and others on Thursday.

But teaching assistants are concerned about their future employment and benefits, including health insurance and retirement. Some said they hadn’t received adequate notice of the proposed change and aren’t being treated with the respect they deserve after years of working for Oak Ridge Schools. Marczak said school administrators, including the human resources department, took notes during the meeting and will respond to the staff’s concerns. [Read more…]

School board approves one-time bonus, SRO funding, hears pleas to save jobs

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Oak Ridge Board of Education Budget

Oak Ridge High School students Miranda Lands, left, Michele Lands, and Matthew Stansberry present a student petition asking the Oak Ridge Board of Education to spare physics teacher Katherine Goepfert from budget-cutting layoffs.

The teaching jobs should be saved, students and parents told the Oak Ridge Board of Education during a special budget meeting Tuesday.

One of the teachers who could lose her job, Oak Ridge High School physics teacher Katherine Goepfert, or “Ms. G.,” has motivated students who have been in danger of dropping out, they said, and 109 students have signed a petition asking for her position to be saved.

“She’s just a good teacher,” ORHS senior Miranda Lands said. “She’s ‘busting her butt’ every day for our education.”

A few parents pleaded for the board to preserve a special education teaching assistant position at Linden Elementary School. They said their children require one-on-one attention, and they are concerned the students might struggle without that help. [Read more…]