Retirement incentives were given to teachers to minimize layoffs. How-
ever, as class size limits were mandated by contract, some of the retirees
actually had to be replaced. This neophyte principal looked for ways to
cut the budget. The school had a significant number of full-time school
aides. An easy fix would be to reduce their hours from seven hours a day
to five or four (school aides were hourly employees). Being inexperienced
and insensitive, Mr. Thelen wrote this cut into the budget. It wasn’t until
later that he realized that for a relatively small budgetary saving, he had
caused several people severe financial stress.
A few school aides were semiretired people who did not totally rely
on their salary. For others, however, this was their only source of income
and this cavalier cut made it difficult for them to make ends meet. The
situation was rectified in the next budget, and Mr. Thelen learned that the
numbers on any budget line represent people who have their own lives
and budgets to contend with.
Years later, Principal Thelen remembered this lesson. When it was
mandated that School Leadership Teams have input into the school’s
budget, he began his budget training session with this same idea: “The
numbers you see are not just numbers, but people like you, who need a
job in order to survive.” Principal Thelen described the people involved
and explained how each contributed to the running of the school to make
it a better place for students. Neither he nor the leadership team made any
attempt to make cuts that would disrupt the lives of real people. They were
never forced to deal with major budget cuts.
Some of the “principles of educational leadership” have a negative or
downside. Not this one. You will never go wrong by remembering the
issues most important to the people who make your school work.
Be Aware of Workplace Issues 97