Ann Helms pried loose a more complete account of the recent layoffs handed down by CMS, fleshing out weeks of confusion and speculation on the topic. Turns out CMS laid off almost 1200 employees, not the 855 on the first list.

But that is not the big news. The shocker — or what should be shocking to anyone not numbed by CMS over the years — is that CMS clearly opted to layoff classroom teachers rather than touch highly paid administrative staff. Start with the regional Learning Communities.

Most lost a secretary here and there, usually going from three to two secretaries for office staff of a dozen or so. The Central LC did lose a “coordinator” making $62K, but still has a staff of 13 including two — 2 — area executive directors making over $100K each. Oh, area super Joel Ritchie is paid $144K. The West LC lost no one — not even a secretary from a staff of 11. And the West LC still has six — 6 — administrators making between $116K and $60K below the area super.

The North LC lost a secretary, still has two more, also with the six administrators soaking up almost $400K in salary. That’s between seven and 10 teachers for any member of a PTA following along at home, out of a single EdShed outpost. In all, opting to staff the LCs with at least 30 well-paid administrators below the area supers has cost CMS 50 to 75 teaching slots, no question about it.

But there is more. CMS’ vaunted PR operation lost a single $61K TV production slot. That leaves at least six more slots which claim around $300K in salary. CMS’ infamous legal staff, last seen losing another case to parents who claimed CMS did wrong, lost not a single staffer. That’s another $300K for a headcount of five. Let’s say that $600K in non-classroom costs could’ve paid for 12 teaching slots.

As result, when you look at CMS’ cost centers I think it is fair to say that CMS could have easily kept from laying off 100 teachers had it instead truly targeted middle-managers nesting among its nearly 20,000 employees.

Yet there is one more number that jumps out from the list of those CMS cut loose. With discipline a chronic issue in schools, CMS opted to layoff 47 campus security personnel. Compare that to a total of 17 secretaries, not school secretaries, that the CMS bureaucracy decided it could live without.

Then again, who would type up the press releases and legal settlements without them?