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Evanston Now
Karen Bireta is not leaving after all.
Bireta, the sustainability coordinator for Evanston/Skokie School District 65, was among 21 employees given pink slips earlier this year as part of the financially-strapped system’s budget cutting strategy.
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But in a community memo, Superintendent Angel Turner said not only is Bireta being retained, but the district is “doubling down on its sustainability commitments” by hiring an additional person, as science and sustainability education coordinator.
She is Carla Shortino, most recently an elementary science content specialist for Chicago Public Schools.
Seeing as how Bireta was let go in order to save money, it might seem odd that not only is she being retained, but the sustainability focus is getting another staffer.
However, the superintendent said the decision “remains aligned to the budget reduction plan and is cost neutral.”
That means that savings will have to come from somewhere else. Financial consultant Robert Grossi has called for D65 to cut more than $5 million in personnel expenses for the upcoming Fiscal Year.
Much of that savings will come through the already announced layoffs (minus one), and not filling already empty positions or jobs becoming vacant through attrition.
The updated budget will be presented in August.
When Bireta was informed that her job was being cut, several parents urged the board to reconsider, and school officials said that the layoff was purely financial. Officials said they were happy with Bireta, and urged her to re-apply for a re-configured position.
Turner said the decision to beef up sustainability efforts is in line with the values of a community “that’s deeply committed to climate justice and creating a healthier, more sustainable world for generations to come.”
Sustainability efforts in District 65 range from trying to reduce the carbon footprint, to cutting waste in food service and incorporating climate change issues into the curriculum.
Jeff Hirsh joined the Evanston Now reporting team in 2020 after a 40-year award-winning career as a broadcast journalist in Cincinnati, Ohio. More by Jeff Hirsh
3 Comments
So whatever happened to education that leads to real jobs, skills and success in the real world? This is just more thoughtless garbage from a school system approaching non-functiional.
Good news: Parents’ concerns were heard, and the employee’s position remains intact. In theory, adding another role strengthens commitment and we should get behind these positions and programs. But let’s hold our applause. The handling of this was about as empathetic as a faceless corporate exec slashing jobs for profit. Employee gets a pink slip, only to be told later they’re actually safe and oh we have actually added payroll with a new role. If the money was there for an additional role, why the circus? Surprise, surprise—the decision-makers scrambled to minimize the fallout from their 5th Ward School cost blunder and the Bessie Rhodes School closure, so they’ll just kick the can on that $5 million deficit. Turns out, they’re not just kicking the can they’re moonwalking with it.
Truth: her salary will be paid either by someone else getting canned or some other position going unfilled. The phrase “cost neutral” should be banned at District 65. After all the 5th Ward School was supposed to be cost neutral. Turns out that was an utter lie.
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