Living in limbo: the back-to-school job hunt for a pink-slip teacher

As of this week, most Bay Area schools are back in session, and if you haven’t heard, they’re in for a rough year. Over the last two years the state has decimated public school funding — $17 billion cut so far. To quote a former governor, "It’s trickle down economics." If the state doesn’t have money, neither do our schools. And that means pink slips for teachers — thousands of them.



But a pink slip doesn’t always mean unemployment. Districts often rescind layoffs before the start of the school year. Unexpected funding, last minute retirements or resignations can open up teaching spots.



But that’s little assurance for laid off teachers – especially for those who find themselves at the bottom of the seniority list.



Today we’re going to meet one. KALW’S Mitzi Mock joined a hopeful teacher a couple weeks before the school year started as she scrambled to find a job.

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MITZI MOCK: Last spring, 26,000 California teachers got a pink slip. And if they happened to be one of the 148 Hayward Unified School District teachers to lose their job, Sara Fanvu was there for them.

SARA FANVU: Well, if you have a question about how to apply for unemployment, or what to do from there or what to expect with a timeline, go ask Sara, ‘cause, you know, she’s done this six times.

Sara Fanvu is an elementary school music teacher. And yep, you heard right, she’s been laid off six times. Six times in eight years. By the same school district.

FANVU: Of all the teachers in Hayward I am “Queen of the Layoffs.”

Many young teachers like Fanvu have become accustomed to an annual ritual. A pink slip in the spring, a summer in limbo, and if they’re lucky, a recall by fall. But with major budget cuts last year, and a stark budget forecast for the coming school year, laid-off teachers face even more uncertainty than usual.

Fanvu’s had her job reinstated five times, but this year she’s sure her luck’s run out. So she applied for a position at the nearby San Leandro Unified School District. And when she was called in for an interview, she let me tag along.

FANVU [in car]: I have to figure out whether we’re going to take the 880 or the 580, so we’ll have to listen for a few minutes. (Traffic report on radio)

Right. Fanvu lives in San Francisco, so we’ve got to deal with commuter traffic.

MOCK: So what do you do with all your pink slips?

FANVU: I used to hold on to them just as… I don’t know… a badge of honor or courage. And then I decided that this is just stupid to hold on to them and I recycled them.

MOCK: In the past eight years, how many times have you found yourself at a job interview?

FANVU: Ah, very good question. Each time I was called back in a fairly timely manner or I knew there was a position for me. This is actually the first time I’m really needing to go out. So I’m a little rusty.

MOCK: Are there any other positions that you are looking at right now?

FAVNU: I look every day to see if there are any new postings that fit the criteria: within an hour from my home, a music position, and elementary, specifically.

As a music teacher, Fanvu’s job is usually the first to go. Hayward Unified sent preliminary pink slips to every one of its elementary school music teachers last year. So to improve her chances of getting re-hired, Sara got a multiple subject credential. But this year, that’s useless. Despite eight years of experience, she’s still at the bottom of the seniority list.

MOCK: How long would you be willing to wait for a position to open up, if this doesn’t work?

FAVNU: I’m prepared to wait approximately a year. But I would definitely be looking to find a job by the following school year.

So far, Hayward Unified has recalled 105 of the 148 teachers it laid off. So Fanvu’s got a chance to get her old job back. But if she goes ahead and takes a job with another district she loses those eight years of seniority — the closest thing a teacher can have to a life raft in tough budget years.

FANVU: The question is, “Do I stay on a sinking ship, or do I go somewhere else? I don’t know. It’s tough being a music teacher.”

We’ve made it to San Leandro, and Fanvu wastes no time. She throws some sample lesson plans into her bag and heads into the human resources building for her job interview.

While she’s doing that, we can take a minute to look at the big picture. So let’s head to Washington D.C., where members of Congress just hammered out the Education Jobs Fund. The new legislation will send money around the country, including $1.2 billion to California schools to save or protect teacher jobs. That could save 16,500 people from unemployment.

NANCY PELOSI: I’m so proud of what the House of Representatives has done today, and I am so very honored, now, to sign this important legislation so relevant for the lives of America’s families. (Applause)

Wait. Don’t celebrate just yet.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: For the 19th time in 25 years, California will start the fiscal year without a budget.

Yes, year after year, Governor Schwarzenegger has been delivering the bad news. We’ve got no state budget, and that means the state can’t send any money out to school districts. So Fanvu, for one, hasn’t been taking any chances. In the last few weeks she’s sent out her resume and set up interviews with the few districts that are still hiring – like San Leandro.

Looks like her interview is over. Here she comes:

MOCK: So how did it go?

FANVU: I thought it went well. I think it was a good interview, but it remains to be seen.

And on that uncertain note, we get back into the car and head back across the Bay Bridge.

Three days after her interview I meet with Fanvu to see how her job search is going.

MOCK: How are you doing this morning? Have you heard from San Leandro?

FANVU: I did. I heard from them a little after 9:00, and I was offered the position. So I took a few hours to think about it and talk to my husband because it will be a pay cut for me. But then around 11:30 I called them back and accepted.

MOCK: Have there ever been moments where you said, “I can’t do this anymore,” and considered walking away from teaching?

FANVU: In the first few years that I was laid off, there was always another district that was hiring, so I always felt like there was somewhere else I could go. Nowadays it’s more difficult. I feel so sorry for teachers who are new. Those who are going into the profession now are very brave. But once I got through those first few years, I knew that I was going to be a teacher, and there was really nothing else that I would do. I can’t imagine doing anything but teaching.

So this story has a happy ending. Well, for now. If the governor’s proposed budget passes, schools will lose another $2.2 billion. More cuts are bad news for Sara Fanvu. Now that she’s teaching in San Leandro, she’s lost the eight years of seniority she built up in Hayward. Which means if major cuts come again, she could be facing her seventh pink slip.

For Crosscurrents, I’m Mitzi Mock.