Teach For America (TFA) began in 1990 as an organization purportedly interested in working towards ameliorating a national teacher shortage by sending its corps members into urban and rural schools. In the decades that followed, especially during and immediately following a nationwide onslaught of teacher layoffs instigated by the 2008 Great…

School districts are confronting difficult choices in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Today, the financial imbalance in many school districts is so large that there may be few alternatives to teacher layoffs. In nearly all school districts, layoffs are currently determined by some version of teacher seniority. Yet, alternative approaches to…

We evaluate potential determinants of enrollment in an early retirement incentive program for non-tenure-track employees at a large university. Using administrative records on the eligible, population of employees not covered by collective bargaining agreements, historical employee count and layoff data by budget units, and public information on…

In December 2010, the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) staff surveyed public universities in other states to learn how they have dealt with cuts in state funding. All of the institutions CPEC surveyed have increased tuition and or fees at least once in the last two fiscal years, and many project additional increases. All have…

Closing programs is the most severe of the three strategies campuses typically consider during difficult financial times: generating new revenue, making across-the-board spending cuts, or undertaking targeted cuts. Closures of academic programs can have lasting negative fallout and the savings may not be as great as anticipated, but at certain…

This policy brief, a quick look at some aspects of the debate, illustrates the differences in New York City public schools that would result when layoffs are determined by seniority in comparison to a measure of teacher effectiveness. Due to data limitations and an interest in simplicity, this analysis employs the value added of teachers using the…

New York State educators are warning that proposed cuts in state aid to public schools next year could force more than 14,000 teacher layoffs. Officials of the state's largest teachers' union claim aid cuts will "devastate" education, leading to a "drastic" reduction of programs and "much larger class sizes." But…

This report examines a typical case of a small town within a predominantly rural county losing its largest employer of many years. During 1992-95, over 850 workers were laid off in Cortland, New York, as Smith-Corona Corporation transferred its manufacturing operations from Cortland to Tijuana, Mexico. Interviews with laid-off workers, conducted…

Discusses economic and legal issues related to declining public school enrollments and pressures for "reduction in force" (RIF) of teachers. Reviews developments involving RIF cases in New Jersey and Yonkers, New York. Recommends school boards not agree to contracts that limit their ability to lay off personnel for economic reasons. (JG)

The collective bargaining agreement between the State of New York and United University Professions, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, for the period July 1, 1988 to June 30, 1991 is presented. The contract's 50 articles cover the following: recognition, unchallenged representation, exclusive negotiations, definitions, policies,…