Planning periods, where teachers can grade, eat, go to the bathroom, make copies and lesson plan, are being taken away, Mahoney said.
“Many teachers report only receiving one to two planning periods per week,” Mahoney said. “This results in teachers basically teaching bell to bell each day with no break week after week.”
Addressing concerns that the school board has made multiple times, Mahoney said teachers are leaving because they feel overworked. School board members have asked for exit interviews to be performed for those leaving the district to understand why the person is leaving.
Mahoney said he hasn’t seen the exit interviews but has heard many times from frustrated teachers who end up leaving the district.
“The reasons shared with me for their leaving include overwhelming workload, loss of planning time, their safety and the safety of the students due to the number of fights that are seen every day,” Mahoney said.
Other issues include, “Class sizes that are too large, lack of support given to teachers, especially our new teachers and long-term subs, and the continual ask of more and more from them each and every day,” Mahoney said.
Teachers are stressed and exhausted, Mahoney said, and they are beginning to lose hope.
“Teachers are worn out,” Mahoney said. “Their physical health and wellbeing are being impacted and they’re seeking relief.”
School board members didn’t make comments in response to Mahoney and DPS superintendent Elizabeth Lolli declined to comment.
Other southwest Ohio teachers unions in the area whose contract also expired June 30 have been updated and settled, with the Dayton teachers’ union as the only exception.
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