Former Pittsburgh Public Schools teachers claim firings were based on pay

PITTSBURGH — Former Pittsburgh Public Schools teachers claim they were fired based on their higher salaries instead of their performance.

Until 2014, teachers were observed by school principals and rated as satisfactory or unsatisfactory, in which case they were put on an improvement plan. Two unsatisfactory ratings led to dismissal.

“When they put you on an improvement plan, they're not trying to improve you, they're trying to cut you loose,” Joe Giansante, a former teacher, said. “It was just very subjective. The evaluations are totally subjective, there was no objectivity to it.”

Giansante, who was set to reach the highest income bracket, has been fighting his firing for three years and claims he was targeted based on his pay. His case is in front of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

“I love teaching. What was ruining it wasn't the kids, it was the administration pounding on the teachers day in and day out, saying you're not good enough,” Giansante said.

Other teachers told Channel 11 News that they believe they, too, were fired because of how much they were earning.

"I figured out they could hire two and a half people for what they were paying me, and I figured that's what they were going for," one former teacher told Channel 11's Aaron Martin.

“They targeted older people that were in the $79,000 per year bracket,” former teacher Hank Sauer said.

Channel 11 News filed a Right-to-Know Request and received five years’ worth of data detailing the ratings given to teachers at Pittsburgh Public Schools.

From Sept. 2011 to June 2015, 157 teachers received unsatisfactory ratings and were put on improvement plans. More than two thirds of those teachers left the district or were removed.

“If there was a legitimate basis for these complaints it would have been evident through grievances or other formal complaints, which have never been filed,” Pittsburgh Public Schools Solicitor Ira Weiss said.

Weiss said that two years ago the district adopted a new teacher evaluation plan, which factors in student achievement along with principal observations.

“To the extent there are doubts about the adequacy of the other system, this should address those concerns,” Weiss said.

Cox Media Group