Teachers caught in tenure mix-up

WYOMING, Mich. - Several former charter public school teachers say they will appeal a state decision denying them tenure and also will ask Wyoming Public Schools to give them jobs next year, according to The Grand Rapids Press.

The teachers all worked at Horizons Community High School, an alternative academy chartered by the Wyoming district, according to The Press. Though the teachers were given letters of tenure after completing four years of probationary work, both the teachers and the district learned last year that charter school employment does not lead to tenure, The Press reported. That provision in the law is designed to give charter schools more flexibility.

The teachers took their case to the State Tenure Commission, which turned them down, saying that it had no authority to create an exception, according to The Press.

The district has since closed Horizons and plans to close more buildings, the report said. Three former Horizons teachers now rank below the district's tenured teachers on the seniority list and are expected to lose their jobs, the report said.

Superintendent Jon Felske told The Press that though the district supported the teachers' appeal, he now has no choice but to follow the terms of the employee contract and give tenured teachers jobs first.

SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "Former Wyoming Horizons Community High School teachers say state tenure ruling cost them their jobs," June 4, 2009

FURTHER READING:

Michigan Education Report, "Tenure law is impediment to school reform," May 12, 2000