The School District of Philadelphia announced plans to stop using teacher seniority as the only factor in hiring decisions. Under a new plan, schools will have a committee comprised of the principal, teachers and parents to determine teacher staffing.
"We must implement these changes now to be ready for the coming school year,” said Superintendent William Hite. “In one instance, a high school chemistry teacher who was voted ‘best teacher’ by students lost his job simply because he lacked seniority. We cannot continue to allow that to occur.”
With the negotiations for a new contract for teachers at a stalemate, the District has filed a case with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to confirm its legal right to implement the reforms. Read more about this story on PBJ.com.
