Union: Nearly all Centerville school teachers cut last year were offered jobs back

“I believe between this year and last year all but one of the teachers have been recalled to the district. The one that has not (has) been given a part-time contract this year,” Cayot said in an email to the Dayton Daily News.

“However, not all teachers who were recalled decided to come back to the district,” he added. “They found employment in other area districts last year and enjoyed their experience with them and decided to stay with those districts.”

The cuts came after $2.12 million in state cuts were announced after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, officials said.

The district has returned 10 staff members this school year who were part of the reduction in force in June 2020, said Dan Tarpey, assistant superintendent and human resources director.

A combination of retirements, resignations and transfers, plus an increase in student enrollment this year helped bring back laid off teachers, officials said.

Tarpey told district officials that enrollment was 8,222 as of late August.

Ohio Department of Education data shows Centerville’s PreK-12 enrollment figures at 7,887 last school year after several years of rising enrollment topping 8,000 annually.

The higher number of students for this year helped the recall process, Cayot said.

The district hired 35 certificated staff, including four minorities, as “diversity an important focus of our recruitment,” Tarpey said.

It’s “very good news that the district is back to a more normal pattern of staffing,” he said.

The teaching cuts were proposed by Superintendent Tom Henderson as part of a 31.5-job shift.

At least one school board member — Dr. David Roer — voted for the reduction in force with the caveat that if Centerville had future teaching vacancies, those whose jobs were cut would get top consideration.

Staff need was an issue Cayot said he spoke regularly about with Henderson and Tarpey over the summer.

“It was a tricky year this year coming off of the past year due to remote kids coming back that might have left during the previous year,” Cayot said. “They did the best they could do to predict what the needs were going to be.”