Massive layoffs threaten teachers in California

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The entire teaching staff, and some administrators, too, have received pink slips for the next academic year from the Alameda school district, which serves this island city of 75,000 across the bay from San Francisco.

No one expects the schools to close in the fall, but the layoff notices, in keeping with a state legal requirement, are an indication of the serious financial troubles haunting California's schools. Not since the economic downturn of the early 1990s have schools here experienced such problems.

The pink slips, and those issued to thousands of other teachers across the state this month, also illustrate the mixed -- and some say, very worrying -- signals being sent to prospective new teachers.

California is projected to face years of increasing student enrollment. The state also continues to experience a shortage of teachers, especially in math, science and special education. But now, with the state's budget problems, many districts fear they cannot afford to pay those already in the classroom.

After years of trying to encourage people to enter teaching through multimillion-dollar programs, state officials are being accused of undermining their own successes with the threat of widespread layoffs. Many critics fear the consequences will be felt long after the current budget crisis passes, particularly if students entering teaching programs now decide the future looks too risky.

"We hear all these things in our school placements, that everyone is getting a pink slip, and they are laying off all these first-year teachers," said Sarah Kenley, a graduate student in education at San Francisco State University. "It worries me. I think I just came into the profession at the wrong time."

Education and union officials estimate that 25,000 teachers statewide have received layoff notices this month, which are required under state law if school districts are contemplating letting teachers go this summer.

It is unclear how many of those teachers will actually lose their jobs because most districts have not yet settled on budgets for next year.

Gov. Gray Davis has proposed cutting about $1.6 billion in direct financing for the state's 1,000 school districts, part of his effort to deal with a gaping budget deficit attributed to the high- technology bubble burst and a sluggish economy after the terror attacks of Sept. 11.

If the Legislature approves the education cuts, local officials say they would need to increase class sizes, eliminate programs and, unavoidably, let go teachers. They will not know for certain until June, when the state budget is supposed to be approved.

Copyright C 2003 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.