Unions, teachers urge Dearborn board to drop attendance from surplus and layoff criteria

Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education members heard union leaders, teachers and staff press the district to remove attendance from the formula used to determine surplus and lay off employees, arguing the policy penalizes use of negotiated sick and personal days and disrupts school communities.

At the meeting, union representatives described survey results and frontline workload while teachers and a psychologist offered examples of teachers who said they were moved or feared being moved after using paid leave. Board members and district administrators discussed the policy's history and said they were open to revisiting the criteria through negotiations; no formal vote or policy change was recorded.

The Dearborn Federation of School Employees (DFSE) and the Dearborn Federation of Teachers (DFT) presented staff perspectives. "We take pride in keeping our schools safe and functional," DFSE Vice President Kyle West said, describing the district's maintenance workforce and its workload. Donna Smith, a DFSE trustee and special-education paraprofessional, told the board there are "almost 300 paraprofessionals in Dearborn Public Schools" and described staff commitment to…