Klein says without state help, (New York) DOE could lay off 15,000 educators

Source: Gotham Schools.org

Fleshing out the doomsday picture Mayor Bloomberg has laid out already about what would happen to schools if Governor Paterson’s proposed state budget is passed, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein told a joint session of the state legislature today that Paterson’s plan would force layoffs of 15,000 school-based staff, including teachers. He estimated the total state budget cut at $1.4 billion next year, a gigantic figure he said would translate into an 18% cut for every school next year.

He said that the schools could be forced to lay off staff as soon as this school year, because of a possible $84 million mid-year budget cut. “It would be right now saying to our schools, you’ve got to terminate people right away,” Klein said.

Klein is asking the legislature for help in cushioning against a scenario as bleak as that. He wants more flexibility in how the city schools are allowed to spend funds, especially Contracts for Excellence funds. He said he is also “praying” for help from the federal government.

“We don’t want to lose personnel,” he said later. “Particularly, we don’t want to lose young talented people that we’ve recruited in recent years.” If teacher layoffs happen, the least experienced teachers would be the first to lose their jobs, according to provisions in the teacher contract.

Read more: http://gothamschools.org/2009/01/28/klein-says-without-state-help-15000-educators-could-be-laid-off/

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Holy crap.

It's a fast way to put a lot of lay-offs on hold.