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Parents, teachers mad with Roosevelt School District changes

Posted at 6:26 PM, Sep 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-20 11:24:27-04

The potential loss of a critical resource is creating a divide at a Valley school district that is pitting teachers and parents against the superintendent.

Parents and teachers are upset at the thought of the cut of long-term substitute teachers which could cost some school programs, like art and music classes, s well as force students into larger class sizes. 

Long-term substitutes have been a staple in the Roosevelt School District of more than a decade. 

Employees tell us they fill an essential role in providing specialty classes like art, music and computer science as well as filling open positions. 

But, earlier this week, the employees say the district announced an end to those positions as of September 29th. 

Employees who reached out to ABC15 off the record say this would create a snowball affect leading to packed classrooms and less individualized attention to students. 

ABC15 was told an art class at Julian Eric Hudson is now gone because the teacher was a long-term sub. 

John R. Davis lost a computer class for the same reason. 

However, the district says the strategy is to get away from long-term subs and get more permanent employees. 

They also tell ABC15 not all long-term subs will be let go, contrary to what was told to school employees. 

The district says critical long-term subs, such as those taking over for a teacher who goes on short-term disability, will still be in place. 

Like pretty much every district, money is tight and competition for good teachers is intense. If subs are eliminated, many employees are wondering where the teachers are going to come from. 

It's a question that will certainly come up when the meeting begins at 6 p.m.