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Youngstown schools seek solution to teacher absences
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown city school teachers aren’t the only ones taking attendance.
Karen Green, assistant director for human resources, presented a report Thursday to the Youngstown Schools Academic Distress Commission comparing monthly teacher absences for the first three months of this school year and last.
This year’s percentage of teacher absences ranges from 3 percent at Wilson Programs of Promise in September to 12 percent at Choffin Career and Technical Center for the first 19 days of November.
Green said the district is establishing a committee of teachers and administrators to try to come up with solutions.
“We’re working to reduce the number of teachers that are absent,” she said.
By law, teachers are allowed 15 days of paid sick leave per year. Sick days accumulate from one year to the next if they aren’t used.
In talking with teachers, they’ve cited stress and the amount of work required to move the district forward as reasons for absenteeism, she said.
“I talked to one teacher who said that from the time she gets up until the time she goes to bed, she does nothing but school work,” Green said.
A special-education teacher told Green that she had so many student individual education plans to complete she had to take a day off to get them done, she said.
Joffrey Jones, commission chairman, asked if certain days of the week saw more absences than others. When he served as Euclid Schools superintendent, there were more absences on Mondays and Fridays, he said.
Green said the numbers are higher on Thursdays and Fridays.
“Do the teachers realize the damage they’re doing to this district with their attendance record?” asked Michael Garvey, a commission member.
“I think some of them do,” Green said.
She said with recent changes in the State Teachers Retirement System, teachers who are getting ready to retire are using their accumulated sick time, contributing to the absences.
By contract, upon retiring a teacher can collect pay for a certain number of unused sick days.
Garvey asked if there’s an opportunity to reopen the contract on the issue.
Superintendent Connie Hathorn said the district could discuss the idea of a memorandum of understanding on the issue with the teachers union.