8 to 10 Catoosa Co. Teachers Resign, Jobs Now Open For Those Slated To Be Laid Off

The Catoosa County School Superintendent says the school system now has job openings for some teachers slated to be laid off.

The school board held a closed session last night but Superintendent Denia Reese says eight to ten teachers offered their resignations since the school board's last meeting. She says some are retiring and others are simply moving on. Back in April the school board announced the elimination of thirty-five positions for the 2008-2009 school year, citing a lack of state-wide funds. But tonight Reese says there are only fifteen teachers who haven't been placed into other positions, and now those teachers will be able to fill the newest vacancies as long as they're certified for the positions.

"Well we are thrilled that has been our highest priority since our reduction in force is to place teachers who do not have positions so slowly everyday when a position becomes open we celebrate because that means one teacher can be placed," Denia Reese says.

Reese says her goal is to place all of the teachers currently without jobs by the beginning of the next school year.

We received a couple of phone calls from parents last week about one teacher in particular - Ringgold High School teacher and coach Brad Walker. We called school spokeswomen, Marissa Chambers, last week and she told us Walker is still on staff at Ringgold High School. To clarify, tonight we asked the superintendent about Walker's employment and she stated she couldn't comment because they can't talk about individual personnel matters.