For too long, the District of Columbia Public School system has failed to give Washington’s students a decent education. The appointment of new DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee was supposed to change that. Rhee has already proposed closing under-enrolled schools and has laid off part of the administration, all in the name of saving money and refocusing efforts. Last Thursday, Rhee announced the latest positive step in her strategy of school reform: offering buyouts for as many as 700 teachers, which will allow the District to cut costs and better serve its students.
The buyouts, along with the closure of several schools, are meant to compensate for decreasing enrollment within the approximately 50,000 student system. Approximately 1,700 teachers are eligible for the buyout, according to the Washington Post, including those who work at closing or re-organizing schools and those nearing retirement age. Teachers are being offered between $1,000 and $20,000 to leave. Buying out the teachers is a good way to cut employees left over from the closed schools, and more compassionate than layoffs.
“This program is for teachers to opt out only if they want to,” DCPS Spokeswoman Mafara Hobson said. “Transitioning to a new school is a huge effort and some teachers may not want to be a part of it.”
The buyouts will cut unnecessary employees, eventually saving the cash-strapped District $13 million, money that Hobson said could be put into classroom resources. And young teachers that come in to replace some of the bought-out staff will provide a welcome influx of new ideas.
The first priority of any school system should be the education of its students. In the past this goal has sometimes been sacrificed in favor of teachers’ job security. It is time for DCPS to put its students first, and Rhee’s proposed buyouts are a step in the right direction.
