BROOKSVILLE, Fla. -- A Brooksville, Florida elementary school gave all of its teachers pink slips on Friday, the school district said it's an effort to make the school better.
"It should’ve came from the school. Not have to hear the news through Facebook," said father Andrew Beck.
Facebook is how he found out that all the teachers at his children’s school were given pink slips. The school, Moton Elementary, which is a "Double D" school and the lowest performing school in Hernando County.
During a faculty meeting on Friday, teachers were notified they would be done working at Moton after the school year. Tenured teachers are to be reassigned.
The district says they made the announcement before the end of the school year to give non-tenured teachers time to look for other jobs.
"To see what many of them are going through right now, its heartbreaking," said Megan Oates, a former Moton teacher.
Megan Oates and Bridie Jones both taught at Moton for more than 10 years before quitting last year.
"I no longer felt like I had the support that I needed to do my job," said Jones.
Bridie Jones owns Lake Lindsey Mall and Deli where both teachers now work.
They say they’re much happier without the stress and pressure they faced from the constant critiquing of teaching at Moton.
"It was a lot of stress. Every day you had a different administrator walk into your room. They were looking for a reason that Moton was a "D" school and they came in and picked us apart every single day," said Jones.
But they say it isn’t the teacher’s fault. Jones says Moton needed help and more staff but the school district didn’t listen.
"As a teacher, you're told, you don’t punish the whole class if something’s not working because it’s not fair to the ones who weren’t a part of that," said Oates.
The school district sent a letter home to parents on Monday explaining that the decision was made because the school was facing closure or state takeover.
The letter states in short:
“With a fresh cadre of teachers coming on board, Moton is positioned to return to a high performing school.”
As for parents, they say they're concerned about the decision and just want what is best for their kids.
"I think it's bad for their education. I think they deserve better," said Beck.
