LARGO, FLORIDA — As families prepare for upcoming school closures and consolidations in Pinellas County, attention is turning to another group facing uncertainty: teachers.
Monday night, human resources staff with Pinellas County Schools said about 150 teachers will be impacted by five school closures to come. Now, the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association is pushing for answers about how those educators will find new schools and positions.
The issue was at the center of discussions Monday night between the teachers association and district officials.
For some families, uncertainty surrounding teachers is adding to concerns about how the consolidation process could affect students.
"It's a different learning environment in there," parent Melissa Torres said. "Especially when the teachers may not know if they have a job or not. That affects the kids' learning."
Tracey McConnell, President of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, said the uncertainty could weigh on educators who still have much of the current school year ahead of them.
"The reality is, is that the teachers that are in classrooms now that are affected by this, they still have almost an entire school year left to teach," McConnell said. "And it is very hard to be effective in a classroom if you are always under pressure."
District expects positions to be available
During Monday night's discussion, the district's human resources team offered some reassurance to teachers who will have to apply for new positions.
Michael Vigue, Chief Human Resources Officer for Pinellas County Schools, said the fact that most of the affected positions are at the elementary level will provide additional flexibility.
"The fact that it's mostly elementary is much less taxing because there's much more flexibility with certifications," Vigue said.
District officials said they did not believe it would be possible to create a separate transfer period specifically for teachers at schools that are closing.
However, officials said they are confident there will be enough positions based on the district's experience in previous years.
"We had less students the year before, and we had a reduction of teacher units and we found homes for everybody, and the year before we did the same," Vigue said.
Teachers may have to wait for more concrete answers
The district says more concrete details are not expected until after winter break, when the district receives numbers from the state.
"We understand that there are teachers anxious about where they're going to land, but we can't speed that process up," Vigue said. "Calming them down and reassuring them is one thing, but giving them a guarantee, we can't do that yet."
The district said human resources partners will be on-site at impacted campuses multiple times after winter break to help teachers navigate the process.
Share Your Story with Maya
Tampa Bay 28 reporter Maya Sargent is here to highlight the triumphs and explore the concerns from her neighbors in North Pinellas County. From Clearwater to Tarpon Springs and everywhere in between - fill out the form below to connect with Maya.
.
Florida brain tumor patient says nearly $1 million in medical bills are now covered after insurance denial
Five months after an insurance fight over brain surgery, Broqsten Bunt says he is medically cleared and has a zero balance on nearly $1 million in billed care.
