Popular Slideshows On CBS11TV.COM
Print
Oct 2, 2008 7:14 pm US/Central
DISD Board Approves Layoffs Of 1,100
Click here for the latest DISD news.
DALLAS (AP/CBS) ―
Facing an
$84 million shortfall this fiscal year, Dallas school district trustees voted to lay off nearly 1,100 employees, including about 550 teachers.
The vote Thursday was 5-2 in favor of layoffs, with one abstention.
The decision to lay off teachers comes three days after Superintendent Michael Hinojosa
laid off 63 staffers from the central office and eliminated about another 100 unfilled jobs. All those positions were for employees working without contracts, so the layoffs did not require school board approval.
Non-contract employees will receive notices by Oct. 9. Contract employees, including teachers, will be notified between Oct. 10-17.
More than 400 of the lost jobs include teachers in the core subject areas of math, science, social studies and English. An additional 500 employees -- such as teacher aides, hall monitors and clerks -- will also lose their jobs.
Teachers with low seniority and poor evaluations are the likeliest to get laid off, said Aimee Bolender, president of the Alliance AFT teachers association. NEA-Dallas employees association President Dale Kaiser called the layoff vote "a dark day for the district, a dark day for the children of the Dallas ISD."
Officials acknowledged they were under pressure from
the Texas Education Agency to make a decision. In the event that the vote would have been delayed, the TEA could have taken over the board's decision.
The staff cuts are expected to save about $30 million, with an additional $38 million coming from budget cuts in other areas, officials said. But that still leaves the district about $15 million short, and administrators have not yet said how they plan to cover the gap.
The Dallas school district is the nation's 12th largest, with more than 160,000 students.
Click here to see a recap of CBS 11's
Jay Gormley's blog from the meeting.
(AP/CBS)
In Case You Missed It ...
