Forced to Hire From Within, Principals Balk
By BARBARA MARTINEZ
Amid all the recent talk of possible teacher layoffs, the city's Department of Education is actually on a hiring spree, but hiring restrictions are making it difficult for principals to fill open jobs.
"We found a fantastic science teacher," said Anna Hall, principal at the Bronx Academy of Letters, but she said she was prevented from taking on the applicant.
Fewer teachers than normal turned out for a recent DOE job fair.
Since May 2009, the department has restricted schools to hiring from an existing pool of teachers, except for certain areas, such as teachers who are trained in special education, speech and certain bilingual subjects. New schools can also hire external candidates for up to 40% of their vacancies in the first three years of their existence.
While most of Bronx Academy's teacher openings are usually filled by this time of year, Ms. Hall's four postings are still open, and "it's not for lack of looking," she said.
At a DOE job fair this week in the armory at the cavernous indoor track at 168th Street in Washington Heights, Ms. Hall noted that the number of teachers looking for jobs appeared to be a fraction of the number at earlier job fairs.
The DOE said more than 500 teachers showed up at the job fair this week to meet with about 80 schools.
"It's awful," Ms. Hall said about the hiring situation. Schools can appeal to the department for