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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

WNYC - News - Schools Chancellor: State Budget Cuts Would Force 8,500 Layoffs

WNYC - News - Schools Chancellor: State Budget Cuts Would Force 8,500 Layoffs:

"NEW YORK, NY February 02, 2010 —Schools chancellor Joel Klein says he'll have to lay off up to 8,500 teachers if Gov. David Paterson's budget cuts are adopted. During testimony in Albany today, Klein called on lawmakers to reduce hundreds of millions of dollars in education cuts. He also asked them to change a law that requires principals to get rid of their newest hires during layoffs to protect more senior teachers.

'We may have to pull a math teacher who's getting great results helping over-age students get back on track from his classroom and replace him with a teacher who struggled with that population in a previous school,' Klein says.

Klein also wants to stop paying teachers if their positions are eliminated and they aren't picked up by another school after a year. The teachers union opposes this change."