Cassie Press

Things got even tenser than they already were in TUSD when on Tuesday, the board cut Poet Christians magnet in exchange for saving two middle school guidance counselors.
I'm convinced every teacher I've talked to in this district is invested not only in their own jobs an livelihood, but in their students.
Some teachers, who showed up at the meeting to ask the board to save 31 teachers, and class size reduction, in exchange for Poet's magnet*, came across the wrong way at the meeting, they said.
Bridget Huff teaches third grade at McKinley Elementary School. She'll probably be laid off this May, she said-- she got a pink slip for the second year in a row (last year the district took it back.)
Huff and other teachers held signs asking the board not to treat Poet differently from other schools. Some people were disappointed in the signs. But Huff said when teachers cheered that the board had suggested moving Poet's magnet down on the priority list, they were cheering that they felt the board was listening to them, not that four teachers were losing their jobs.
"Now not only am I losing my job and I have to pack up my classroom and say goodbye to a school I love, I'm public enemy and I'm getting hate mail," Huff said.
Huff said in retrospect, maybe she shouldnt have called Poet out by name.
She just wanted to convey to the board that when 63 teachers of traditional subject were losing their jobs, it should make sure the cuts were spread even.

*The CSR teachers cost about $350,000. Poet's magnet costs $250,000.