EdVANTAGE Blog

Today we issued a news release with our estimate that school districts outside the Big 5 cities are facing the need to layoff as many as 7,800 teachers, administrators, and support staff.

Hundreds more positions are likely to be eliminated by not filling vacancies created by retirements and resignations.

The estimate is based on survey results from a sample of districts.

A key message for the Council is that school leaders need answers.  Federal stimulus aid will reduce the number of layoffs needed, but right now districts don’t know how much aid to expect, or what strings may be attached to the aid.

Districts have deadlines set in state laws and collective bargianing agreements that dictate when decisions must be made.

Another message is that this year is different.

The last time state aid was cut — in 2003 — school districts proposed budgets with tax increases averaging over 10 percent.

Some poor districts, with nothing to cut that is not mandated, and other districts with unique circumstances may propose large increases, but our clear sense is that most districts are working hard to keep local tax increases to a minimum.

That forces deeper spending cuts to offset built-in cost increases and reduced or flat state aid.  Since 70 percent of school spending is for personnel, any significant cuts require cutting jobs.

Testifying before the New City Council today, City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said that his system may need to make 3,000 to 5,000 layoffs even after federal stimulus help is applied.

Our release also contrasts the estimated school layoffs, with the 8,900 state employee layoffs called for by Governor Paterson on Tuesday, and the 5,000 IBM layoffs announced on Wednesday.

In some counties the numbers of school layoffs reach into the hundred.  If one private employer announced these numbers, it would be front-page, top-of-the-broadcast news.