State Issues Layoff Notices to All 14 Teachers at Southern Center for Developmentally Disabled

The state Wednesday (January 14, 1998) notified all 14 teachers at the Southern Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled in Union Grove that they will be laid off effective June 30.

The action follows the layoff of all 18 teachers at the Northern Center in Chippewa Falls, effective January 3, 1998.

Dennis Houk, president of the WEAC-affiliated teachers local at Southern Center, said he first learned of the layoffs Tuesday night. He said, given the layoffs at the Northern Center, "it was not a total surprise."

However, he said, the layoffs will have a serious impact on the 120 residents who are served by the teachers.

"They will regress in the skills they've acquired over the years, especially in regard to their independence and ability to do the task at hand," he said.

Houk, who has taught at the center for 29 years, said the certified teachers are involved in a variety of programs, teaching residents everything from crafts to reading, math and money skills.

Many of the residents, he said, are emotionally dependent on their teachers and will suffer great emotional loss as a result of the layoffs.

"Any new situation is very stressful for them," he said.

Houk said the local is filing a grievance alleging that the layoffs will deprive residents of their rights. He said he did not know yet whether the Southern Center staff would join a lawsuit already filed by the Northern Center staff.

Mike Moore, director of WEAC Council #1, which represents teachers at both institutions, said the Department of Health and Family Services is being very shortsighted in laying off certified teachers.

"The state seems to be on a mission to deny educational services to the people who need it most," he said.

The center's educational programs are designed by the teachers to ensure residents' successful transition to the community. Without the educational programs, Moore said, residents may not be as well prepared to relocate to the community setting.