People who think that teacher unions drive public education policy should consider the case of Sumrow v. Caddo Mills ISD. Mr. Sumrow was the Athletic Director in the district with a salary of $93,996. He had a two-year contract covering the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years. He had been in that position for 15 years, but that all changed on January 2, 2019 when the superintendent reassigned Mr. Sumrow to be a teacher at the Disciplinary Alternative Education Center. His salary stayed the same for the rest of that year, but was going to drop to $58,401 in the second year of his contract. That’s what teachers made, and he was going to be a teacher.
Do the math. That’s a drop of $35,595 from Year One to Year Two. Do you think for a minute that this would fly in a state with real teacher unions? Me neither. But welcome to Texas. Citing well established precedent, the Commissioner noted that the drop in pay was permissible “Because [Mr. Sumrow] was given adequate notice that his salary would be reduced the following school year.”
There is more to this case, but I think we’ll just leave it at that for today. The case was decided by the Commissioner, who overruled the Administrative Law Judge’s recommendation, on January 13, 2020. It’s Docket No. 029-R3-05-2019.
DAWG BONE: ZERO PROTECTION IN YOUR SALARY FOR YEAR TWO OF YOUR TWO-YEAR CONTRACT
Tomorrow: Friday the 13th.