Union Protects the Rights of Members During Layoff Hearings: Day Two

By Matt Corcoran & Ed Sibby

ASTA Communications Director & CTA Communications Consultant

ANAHEIM - Judge Sawyer announced on Wednesday morning that the complexity of the criteria list and number of affected teachers who will make pleas would require an extension of the hearing by an additional five days or more. 

Anaheim district officials spent the morning explaining each individual layoff notice, including a rationale for why some teachers on the list were skipped while others were not. As the morning progressed, it became obvious that many of the criteria established by the district also applied to teachers who had not been skipped, but had instead received a layoff notice. 

Attorney Marianne Reinhold, representing teachers being laid off by Anaheim Union, began her cross examination of the district in the afternoon by addressing discrepancies in the seniority list. Reinhold questioned Jensen on when discussions regarding the RIF process began and how the district determined which particular kinds of services would be utilized for purposes of skipping on the seniority list.

Jensen struggled to answer seniority questions raised by Reinhold, further highlighting the arbitrary nature of the district’s decision to skip some teachers while noticing others.

Counsel Reinhold placed information into evidence which illustrated that the district had slated  multiple teachers with appropriate credentials for layoff, while skipping other educators with less experience – many possessing the appropriate credential. In example after example given, AUHSD appeared to have struggled to follow their own criteria set out for layoffs.

​As the day ended, it became plain that the district’s determination to make significant deviations from the seniority list has created further uncertainty leaving Anaheim teachers dazed and confused.