Flip a coin, win a teaching position (maybe)
What happens when two teachers are both exactly qualified according to preset guidelines and a school district is doing layoffs? Coin toss!
When the Gilroy Unified School District deemed a South Valley Middle School English teacher and an Eliot Elementary School second grade teacher identical in every way in terms of their qualifications, a judge flipped a coin to break the tie and determine which teacher was more senior, a decision that will affect the order in which teachers who received layoff notices will be hired back if the district has the resources to do so. When the coin fell, Jessica Chessani of Eliot won the prize. At this point, she still doesn’t have a job next year. But when and if the district can, it will hire the teachers back in reverse order, based on their ranking.
Even though the story does not back this up, I’d like to picture in my head that it’s like the coin toss at the Super Bowl, complete with roaring fans and a collectible coin. Oh, and Ms. Chessani doing a victory dance afterwards.
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