L.A. School Board Votes in Favor of up to 5,400 Layoffs

The school board for nation’s second-largest school district, facing a $596 million shortage for the upcoming school year, voted yesterday to lay off as many as 5,400 teachers and support personnel before next fall. The AP reports that the exact number is unknown because the district is awaiting state and federal funds, and some of the layoffs may be offset by an early retirement program. However, district Superintendent Ramon Cortines, who claimed to have tried unsuccessfully to reach layoff-sparing compromises with unions all over the district in the past two weeks, said that even though he’s “recommended that the majority of the stimulus money be used to save jobs,” the incoming funds will not be sufficient “to save all the jobs.”

Although the Los Angeles Board of Education also voted on Tuesday to save the jobs of some 2,000 elementary school teachers, the decision to lay off so many other teachers and staff members has been unpopular. Many unions feel that district spending should be reigned in before pursuing furloughs, salary reductions, and layoffs. Opponents of the board’s decision also say that it will compromise the quality of education in the district. Moreover, they feel that inner-city schools will be disproportionately affected because the majority of their staffs are new hires, and the state mandates that positions be eliminated starting with those who have the least seniority.