Unions Want Probe Of Layoffs by Rhee

Union leaders asked the D.C. Council on Friday for an investigation into the layoffs of 266 teachers and staff members, including an independent audit of the school system's decision to hire 934 educators this spring and summer.

Officials of unions representing teachers, principals and other public school personnel assailed the Oct. 2 dismissals as an attempt by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee to winnow veteran instructors from the system. They said the 934 hires were far in excess of what was necessary to fill job openings and were used to create a budget crisis to justify the firings.

"There seems to be an attitude in this administration that it doesn't care about breaking the rules," said Washington Teachers' Union President George Parker.

Rhee has said that the layoffs were necessary to help address a $43.9 million shortfall in the 2010 public school budget. The gap was created in part, Rhee has said, by the council's decision to cut $20.7 million at the end of July because of declining revenue projections.

Parker was one the first witnesses in what was to be a marathon public hearing into the teacher firings. More than 150 people, including parents, teachers, community activists and representatives of the District's business leadership, had signed up to testify deep into Friday evening.

For the first time, Parker presented data -- albeit incomplete -- attempting to back up union assertions that older teachers were disproportionately targeted in the layoffs. Based on a survey of 204 of the 266 terminated teachers and staff, 62 percent were 50 or older. Parker said he did not have information immediately available on years of service.

The findings appear to be at odds with numbers Rhee disclosed last week, although it is difficult to tell with certainty because the information was based on service time. Rhee said that more than half of the terminated teachers had 10 or fewer years of experience and that about 40 percent had worked for five or fewer years.

Fenty and Rhee also came under withering attack from Joslyn N. Williams, president of the Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO, who called for legislation that would allow the D.C. Council to initiate impeachment proceedings against Fenty. He said the administration's approach to organized labor was unacceptable.

"We know the chancellor's idea of negotiating . . . is negotiating in bad faith," Williams said.

Rhee, who is scheduled to testify before the council Oct. 29, was defended by business leaders, who said she was acting responsibly to balance the system's budget while protecting the interests of its 45,000 students.

Terence C. Golden, chairman of the Federal City Council, an influential organization of business leaders active in education issues, said that in the past, budget cuts had damaged academic programs and facilities maintenance in an effort to preserve teacher employment.

"The facts get distorted in a situation like this," Golden said in an interview before his scheduled testimony. "No one is recognizing the contribution that Michelle Rhee is doing to make this school system better. Her decisions leading DCPS forward are really driven by a focus on children and student outcome."