Nevermind! – Schools reverse some layoffs

Mary Woodward Elementary teacher Tori Dickinson: ‘It feels like I’ve gotten my life back’

By Christina Cooke

The Times, Jun 18, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Jaime Valdez / The TImes

BACK ON THE JOB – Mary Woodward third-grade teacher Tori Dickinson is one of 35 teachers to be hired back after being laid off by the Tigard-Tualatin School District in mid-May.

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TIGARD – Mary Woodward Elementary School teacher Tori Dickinson was having trouble processing the layoff notice she received in May.

During moments when she wasn’t occupied by her third graders – as she planned lessons or graded papers – she was consumed by a feeling of sadness.

“I didn’t know how to wrap my mind around not teaching next year,” she said. “Teaching is the only thing I’ve wanted to do since high school. The idea of not having a class next year put a damper on everything.”

All that changed when Dickinson’s principal called her into her office Tuesday and told her she’d been rehired.

“I actually burst into tears,” Dickinson said. “It feels like I’ve gotten my life back.”

The Tigard-Tualatin School District is in the process of notifying 35 of the 71 teachers it laid off in May that they will, in fact, have jobs next year.

At its most recent meeting, the Tigard-Tualatin school board decided to base its budget on a state K-12 education allocation of $5.6 billion for 2009-2011, rather than $5.4 billion as they had originally planned.

The change increases the local district’s budget by $2 million next year – and negates some of the cuts school leaders were in the process of making.

“I’m very excited at the prospect of hiring back some of our teachers and offering a better educational experience for our students,” said school board member Jill Zurschmeide.

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