The profound renewal of Catholic education, recently evidenced by the 140 student decline in enrollment at Holy Cross High School in Scranton, now necessitates a downsizing of social studies staff at Holy Redeemer High School. According to a Times-Leader article published today, six teachers at Holy Redeemer and two in Holy Cross system will be out of a job next fall “due to staffing needs.” One of the teachers affected is Michael Milz, president of the Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers, who has been leading the push for diocesan recognition of the teachers’ union. Milz plans to continue his role as SDACT President and will keep fighting for union recognition.
This afternoon, the Diocese of Scranton website published a harsh criticism of the Times-Leader for its headline: “Diocese fires man who led union push.”
The Diocese of Scranton is publicly objecting to an inaccurate and inflammatory headline published by the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader newspaper.
The headline, “Diocese fires man who led union push,” appears above an article in the June 10, 2008 edition. The article concerns the staffing of Diocesan Catholic schools and the fact that teachers will be laid off at the conclusion of this school year.
One of the eight teachers being laid off is Michael Milz, president of the Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers.
Contrary to what the accusatory headline charges, this has absolutely nothing to do with his involvement in the union. Mr. Milz is being laid off because, due to declining enrollment, fewer teachers are needed in the social studies department at Holy Redeemer High School, and there are other teachers in that department who are ahead of Mr. Milz in seniority.
Mr. Milz has not been “fired,” and no one else has been “fired.” The layoffs were determined strictly according to the criteria used in previous years. There were no other factors involved.
Moreover, if additional positions are needed due to attrition or enrollment increases between now and the beginning of the school year, teachers who have been laid off will receive first consideration for these openings.
So the use of the term “fired,” especially in the headline, is particularly egregious, not only because it is false, but also because of the sensitive circumstances regarding teacher staffing and the ongoing dispute between SDACT and the Diocese.
This is another example of the Times Leader substituting sensationalism for journalism, especially when it comes to coverage of the Catholic Church and the Diocese of Scranton.
Once again, I quote Bishop Martino’s own words: “To foster the growth of Catholic education in our Diocese, we had to experience some loss, but already we are experiencing new gain. Now it is time to study our parishes with the assistance of The Reid Group. Are we prepared for evangelization in the 21st century or are we not because we are inordinately attached to structures from the past?”
Where, exactly, is the new gain? Since the restructuring took place, enrollments have continued to drop and teachers have been laid off. Furthermore, the diocese still refuses its remaining teachers the right to unionize, and now complains about local newspapers exposing what is happening.
It’s too bad that more people aren’t “inordinately attached to structures from the past.” If we weren’t so obsessed with “profound renewal” and “new evangelization” maybe we would see that the Church of the past had more vocations, more schools, more churches, and more people coming to Mass. Hmm….
