ELK GROVE, CA - Teachers in the Elk Grove Education Association are planning a protest in front of the Elk Grove Unified School District office Tuesday night, according to union president Tom Gardner.
The protest is in reaction to impending budget cuts and layoffs within the district. Gardner says teachers are also unhappy with changes in their health coverage.
At this time, 315 teachers and other certificated district employees currently stand to lose their jobs after this year, according to district spokeswoman Liz Graswich. She said the district must cut $60 million of its $470 million dollar budget.
"It's a difficult time," said Graswich. "When you cut $100 million over three years out of the budget, it becomes very difficult. We've tried to keep (the cuts) away from jobs and the classroom. This year, we just didn't have a lot of options."
Gardner said the education association has been trying since October to negotiate a deal with the school district that might save jobs. Since there hasn't been an agreement, Gardner says the association felt the need to stage a formal protest.
"We want to ratchet it up a little bit. We're continuing to be very frustrated. We think we've made enough concessions to strike a deal" with the district, Gardner said.
Teachers plan to gather in front of the main administration building in
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