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Oct 14, 2008 9:08 pm US/Central
DISD Delays Notifying Teachers Of Layoffs
463 DISD Teachers To Get Job Cut Notices Thursday
Compiled From Staff Reports
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
Officials with the Dallas Independent School District have decided to delay 'the implementation of the reduction in force for contract employees' until Thursday. Hundreds of teachers were supposed to learn Wednesday if their jobs were being cut.
The reduction in staff will help offset the district's multi-million dollar budget shortfall.
In a statement released Tuesday evening DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said, "I want to make certain that we give ourselves time to resolve the issues that they have raised. We are committed to paying close attention to our standards of service at each campus."
In all, 463 district employees are set to receive layoff notices. Most of those are teachers, but a few are school counselors.
The district originally marked 676 jobs for elimination. But then it offered a "voluntary resignation" package, which included a settlement similar to a severance package. So far, 216 employees took that offer, which brought the district to the current total of 463 jobs being cut.
Lois Looney, who has been teaching for 33 years, is opting for early retirement. She hopes to improve the chances that her daughter, who is also a teacher, will keep her job.
"It's tough because of my kids," said Looney. "I have some really great kids and in fact, they're really upset that they're going to lose their teacher. Some of my kids will lose up to 3 or 4 teachers."
Whether it's early retirement or layoffs, all teachers involved will be paid and receive health benefits through mid January of 2009. Many say it's little consolation for the $84 million budget blunder that led the district into this mess.
The teacher's union tried to answer questions teachers may have during a Q-and-A session Tuesday afternoon.
Teachers' union representative Aimee Bolender says Superintendent Michael Hinojosa has a tough road ahead of him to rebuild the confidence of the district's employees. "It is so eroded that he's really got a huge effort," Bolender said. "Almost an untenable effort."
There are efforts to help teachers who are losing their jobs. On October 21 a job fair will be held for any DISD employee who lost their job because of these cuts. Sixty school districts from throughout Texas will be there.
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