Brockton, Mass.: Pink slips for 430 teachers

Brockton Public Schools last Thursday sent out pink slips to 430 teachers, more than a third of the school system’s 1,200 teaching staff. The drastic move is the result of a budget gap of $9.7 million for next year and is closely tied to projected cuts in local aid provided by the state of Massachusetts.

...The Brockton School Committee, chaired by Mayor Linda Balzotti, has been presented with two proposals for implementing the cutbacks, one in which Raymond Elementary would be closed, and another where the cuts would be spread among all schools. Under either scenario, class sizes are expected to rise.

In a separate press release on Friday, the school department noted that Governor Deval Patrick’s proposed local aid for fiscal year 2011 — which is larger than the legislature’s counterproposal — is based on 2008 enrollment numbers. Since then, Brockton schools have seen an enrollment increase of 400 students, including about 130 child refugees from the earthquake in Haiti...

The layoff numbers in Brockton are staggering, but are part of a crisis developing in cities and towns throughout Massachusetts. Municipal revenues are squeezed on one side by legal limits on property tax increases and on the other by cuts to local aid from the state...

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/may2010/broc-m17.shtml