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LAUSD Teachers Marked For Layoffs Speak Out At Hearing
Photo by Hugo90 via Flickr
Employees of the Los Angeles United School District set to be laid off are speaking out Monday at a "Reduction in Force" hearing about the impact of budget cuts on students and whether the district followed policy when handing out layoff notices, reports ABC Local.
In the shadow of a budget crisis that includes the loss of federal stimulus dollars, more than 5,000 layoff notices were distributed to even out the $400 million deficit, notes ABC Local. The district, faced with carrying out the cuts on June 30, says it's "committed to keeping teachers in the classroom."
Attorneys from the district and the United Teachers Union of Los Angeles were on hand at the hearing. Superintendent John Deasy, who thinks "one year of employment is better than unemployment," proposed an emergency fix that includes implementing 12 furlough days and borrowing money from a surplus in a plan that would "rescind 80 percent of the layoff notices for at least one year," reports ABC Local. The teachers union, saying that other options need to be explored, has yet to accept that offer.
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