Why Am I So Mad?

Yeah, you probably can hear that my tone is a lot more bitter, vitriolic, disgruntled, unhappy, frustrated, annoyed, and acidic than normal. Well, I told you that this is the time of year that I get to wonder if I will be riffed--just like every year for the last 4 years.

This year, my state legislature passed a law about how school districts must rif. I mean, who knows more about how to run the business of a school district than legislators? They're doing such a fantastic job keeping our state running efficiently that they're going to help us out too--what pals. Anyway, they made it illegal for school districts to use seniority for the basis of a rif.

So, in my district which is an excelling school district because we know what we are doing and have good teachers, a new system had to be created to decide who's going to lose their job if the impending budget cuts to education (again) result in a rif (again). We probably won't have enough teachers with a poor performance review to cut the necessary amount, so my district came up with a rif rubric. No, I am not kidding.

We have a point value for all kinds of crap--it is 5 pages long. I have to go pay the state dept of ed to officially incur on my teaching license all of the additional certifications that I have, but am not using, because that is a category. All of the stupid committees in the school are a category. Years of experience inside and outside the district is a category. Unfortunately for me, you get 1 point for each of your first 4 years teaching and 9 points for each additional year. Apparently, being a fourth year teacher on the rubric is worth 4 points but being a fifth year teacher is worth 13 points and being a good teacher is irrelevant.

You know, last year when they were riffing on seniority I knew that I was in danger being a third year teacher. When my principal told me I was on the displacement list, solely on the basis of my seniority; I told him that I understand because they have to do something to make our budget work and that method was fair.

This time the method is not fair at all. It is insane and cumbersome. I guess I should go get started on my rif rubric because by the 15th of February they'll start deducting five points at a time until I turn it in.

I am so mad. If I wouldn't have drank all that wine on Saturday, I would want some right now.