Baltimore hiring more Filipino public school teachers

MANILA, Philippines -- The city of Baltimore in Maryland, USA will be hiring 178 more public school teachers from the Philippines by summer, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disclosed Monday.

The embassy reported to the DFA that officials of the Baltimore City Public School Board informed assistance to nationals (ATN) officer lawyer Loy Cortel, welfare officer Oliver Flores and consul Rico Fos about the decision to hire more teachers during a meeting.

The embassy officials met with the school board to discuss the case of 12 Filipino teachers reportedly in danger of being sent home because the board will no longer sponsor their employment visas due to lack of funding.

During the meeting, officials of the school board clarified that “while it is true that the city lost its funding for some of its programs, it does not mean that they will not rehire the Filipino teachers in the affected programs,” the embassy report said.

They said “the affected Filipino teachers will instead be transferred to other schools where teachers are needed and where their teaching skills and specializations match the needs of the intended school.”

Fos told the 300 Filipino teachers who attended the meeting that the embassy will continue to closely monitor their situation and is ready to render any assistance, including a forum on income taxation for newly arrived Filipino teachers.

The forum aims to help them learn about their rights and privileges under federal and state laws.