Aiming for clarity, I present in the space below (as you scroll on down) data that I requested regarding Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) staff cuts in spring 2015.
The data were given to me in the form of a document presumably generated by Scott Weber (MPS Human Resources) and then conveyed to me in an email from Nan Miller (MPS Data Requests), dated 4 October 2016.
The document features four columns listing the following information: level of FTE reduction, bargaining unit, position, and employee impacted.
The term “FTE” refers to Full-Time Employee (or Position).
“Bargaining unit” indicates the labor union or organization to which the affected staff member belonged.
“Position” connotes job title.
And “employee impacted” gives the name of the staff member affected (a more aesthetically pleasing word than “impacted”) by the reduction or conveys such information as “vacant-closed position,” “vacant,” or “open.”
I interpret “vacant-closed position,” to mean that an employee had resigned or been terminated, with the position as yet unfilled as of spring 2015, with no intention by MPS decision-makers to reopen the position.
I interpret “vacant” to mean that an employee had resigned or been terminated, with the position as yet unfilled as of spring 2015, with prospects for reopening the position left unstated.
I interpret “open” to mean that a never-filled position was as yet unfilled as of spring 2015, with prospects for opening the position left unstated.
Budgetary considerations driving the decisions of spring 2015 regarding staff cuts suggest that in the latter two cases (“vacant” and “open”) there was no intention to fill the indicated positions anytime soon--- but this is a matter that I will continue to investigate.
I originally requested confirmation that before the staff cuts of spring 2015 the Davis Center contained 651 positions, that 120 were cut, and that this left 531 positions at the central offices of the Minneapolis Public Schools. The former figures were those given in a Star Tribune article (written by Alejandra Matos) in spring 2015; the latter figure results from arithmetic calculation based on those figures.
Scott Weber informed me that my request could be fulfilled by conveying information according to FTE, position, or employee affected--- and asked me which type I preferred. I requested all three types of reportage. I also requested the names of those employees whose positions were cut and were no longer working at the Minneapolis Public Schools.
The figures given below indicate that Scott Weber gave me a response that as nearly met my request as he was able to give, based on records as they are kept at the Minneapolis Public Schools. But the official response from Nan Miller (seemingly based on the information given to her by Mr. Weber) indicated that the figures of 651, 120, and 531 pertinent to original positions, cuts, and positions remaining could not be confirmed, given records-keeping categories utilized at MPS, without a labor-intensive response. Ms. Miller similarly suggested that labor intensity would be necessary in order to answer my questions pertinent to staff working before the cuts but no longer at MPS after the cuts. Staff labor for answering these questions, she indicated, would be expended at a rate of $25 per hour.
I indicated in an email to Ms. Miller that I would examine the data given and otherwise pursue answers to my questions, drawing upon my own experience and efficiency as a researcher >>>>>
>>>>> I was able to run the following analysis in pursuit of answers to my questions, taking no more than thirty minutes.
>>>>> I have a plan for pursuing the matter of staff no longer worker at MPS after the cuts of 2015 that also will be implemented efficiently--- so look for that information in a future article.
Consider, then, the following presentation relevant to staff cuts at the Minneapolis Pubic Schools in spring 2015 >>>>>
Data Relevant to Reductions at Minneapolis Public Schools in Spring 2015
Full-Time Positions Eliminated 128.0
Part-Time Positions Eliminated 31.8
Total FTE Reductions 159.8
Regarding positions eliminated, the following data are also instructive >>>>>
Full-Time Positions Eliminated 17.0
Via Closure of Vacant Position
Part-Time Positions Eliminated 0.8
Via Closure of Vacant Position
Total FTE Reductions Via Closure 17.8
Full-Time Positions Eliminated 4.0
Via Vacancy
Part-Time Positions Eliminated 0.0
Via Vacancy
Total FTE Reductions Via Vacancy 4.0
Comment
The above calculations come close to yielding an answer to my question regarding confirmation of the Star Tribune figures revealing 120 staff cuts from the 651 staff working prior to the cuts:
My calculation of 159.8 total FTE reductions suggests that those figures given in the Star Tribune were at least close and possibly correct, with the difference explained by the conceptions of officials working at the behest of then-Interim Superintendent Michael Goar:
The 120 figure may have focused on staff members, and that 120 figure given to Ms. Matos may have been provided by officials who did not count about 40 employees who may have been reassigned to positions that were vacant at the Davis Center but were not among the listed FTE reductions; or who took reductions in FTE.
Documents relevant to total staff employed at the Davis Center in January 2015 and June 2015 should provide more definitive answers to my question relevant to the staff reduction figures, especially enabling me to find out who was and who was not working at the Davis Center after the reductions were made. I have requested such documents pertinent to staff currently working at the Davis Center, and Scott Weber has provided these to me with great efficiency.
In the meantime, the figures given above are highly instructive for indicating the very significant staff cuts that were made at the Davis Center in spring 2015:
These data yield information regarding staff cuts made recently in an effort to reduce the burden of the central bureaucracy at MPS that will provide important factual reference as I investigate the impact of these cuts---
and as I advocate for further reductions at the Davis Center, in accordance with the the fifth of my five major points for overhaul of the Minneapolis Public Schools for the provision of an K-12 education of excellence for all of our precious children.
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