Part I: Looming Layoffs and the SOS Marches
This is the first in a series of blog posts called EduFacts: The SOS March in Context.
(Education Sector Intern Mary Nguyen did much of the research for this post.)
One reason for the stubbornly high U.S. unemployment rate is a “record-breaking layoff binge” by state and local governments. IHS Global Insight, an economic forecasting firm, estimates that 110,000 non-federal public sector jobs will be eliminated this quarter and many of them this summer will be teachers. TheCenter on Education Policy reported last month that about 60 percent of school districts nationally anticipate reducing employment this school year.
It’s hard to know exactly how many jobs bill be cut because the budget picture for states and local governments can change quickly and the layoff notices sent out in the spring may be rescinded. But there’s little doubt that it will be in the tens of thousands and many teachers will not know if they have a job until just before the start of the school year. In Clark County School District in Nevada, for example, up to 1,000 pink-slipped teachers will be in limbo until August, waiting to see how many still employed teachers will