Pulling educators out of the classroom but keeping them on the payroll is not confined to San Diego Unified: Education Week wrote a fascinating story last year about the phenomenon of “buyouts,” in which teachers are paid to leave school districts. There has been a ton of buzz about “rubber rooms” in New York City where teachers accused of misdeeds sit idle while the cases are investigated — here is a take from the New York Times, a a documentary on the subject and a segment from This American Life. A Detroit Free Press investigation turned up a similar practice. And this whole issue ties back to an investigative series by the Los Angeles Times that detailed just how difficult it can be to fire a tenured teacher in California, including this story on paying teachers not to teach. If you find more examples, feel free to send me the link by e-mail at emily.alpert@voiceofsandiego.org.