"We did a survey of other school systems with high schools on a similar schedule, and a majority are asking their teachers to handle that extra class." "Yes, we do understand we are asking the teachers to put a little more effort into their jobs, but we aren't asking them for something which is so unreasonable," James said. James defended the money-saving plan, arguing that "doing more with less" is common in every labor sector in the country. 15 to press their case.Īndover teachers have been working without a contract since September, Meyers noted. Meyers said teachers at all grade levels were so upset with the suggestion they appeared en masse at the Andover School Committee meeting on Nov. "We aren't dealing with nuts and bolts, but human beings." "I am shocked that they would even suggest this idea because it is so unprofessional," Meyers said. The head of the teachers union, Thomas Meyers, characterized that suggestion as a "labor speedup" and said that over time demanding more work for less money will reduce the quality of teacher in Andover's classrooms. "If we don't do that, our alternative is layoffs, larger class sizes, and a degradation of the quality of education in Andover, which they don't want and neither do we." "Doing that will save the system a significant amount of money that can then be used for raises," said Anthony James, chairman of the School Committee. Now, in what administrators see as a permanent and less costly solution to the problem, school officials are asking the high school teaching staff to each take on one additional course a year. In order to meet the state's "Time On Learning" regulations, the Andover School Committee hired 11 teachers to increase the number of courses and study halls monitored by teachers - so called "directed studies" - at the high school, according to Superintendent Claudia Bach.
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