Headline: Thornton reveals 519 layoffs, including 354 teachers
On the heels of announcing 519 layoffs, Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Thornton called on the teachers union to reconsider pension concessions that could save 200 jobs.
Thornton announced Wednesday that 519 district employees, including 354 teachers, will receive layoff notices this week because of deep budget cuts in the new fiscal year that begins Friday.
Most of the teacher cuts are at the elementary school level - kindergarten through eighth grade. The layoffs were largely determined by seniority, in accordance with the union contract. Some less-experienced teachers with specialized training were exempt.
Source: jsonline.com
Headline: NYC budget deal averts 4,000 teacher layoffs
New York City lawmakers reached a budget deal Friday that will avert the layoffs of about 4,000 teachers partly through union concessions, but the city won't pay to replace thousands more public school instructors who quit or retire this year, officials said.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn gathered with city lawmakers and the head of the teachers' union Friday evening to announce the roughly $66 billion deal, which ducks the worst of the cutbacks the mayor had said would be unavoidable due to economic hard times and declining state and federal budgets.
Still, city classrooms will hold 2,600 fewer teachers next year, because a larger-than-expected number of instructors are choosing to quit or retire.
Source: msnbc.msn.com
