News4 has obtained the furlough plan that Superintendent Dr. William Hite will present to the Prince George's County School Board Thursday for its approval. And while not many people welcome furloughs, which amount to pay cuts, the reductions are less severe than initially expected.
The new plan calls for one less furlough day for all employees than first proposed due to Prince George's County Council restoring $6 million to the district’s budget.
At first, it looked like 12-month employees, such as administrators, would have 10 furlough days, and 10-month employees, such as teachers, would have five furlough days.
But the latest furlough calendar shows administrators will take nine days and teachers will take four days.
The dates affecting teachers are: Aug. 16, Sept. 24, Jan. 24, and March 4. Those days were intended to be reserved for "professional duties." Essentially, teachers will lose half of the eight days allotted for planning and grading.
Retired union worker, Phyllis Dixon, said the deeper cuts should've remained in place.
"In this economic environment, we all need to feel the pain. Teachers, firefighters, everybody. Things aren't perfect, and we shouldn't pretend like they are," Dixon said.
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But teachers, who will lose valuable planning time for the classroom as well as pay on all four days, likely do not agree with that sentiment.
In a letter, Dr. Hite said he regrets the "impact of the budget on employees."
A furlough estimator can help them determine how much their paychecks will shrink when they arrive in July.
