3,000 Los Angeles Teachers May Lose Jobs

In an unprecedented move, the Los Angeles Unified School District is warning 3,000 nonpermanent teachers that they may be laid off.

While it is standard policy for the district to send layoff notices as a precautionary measure, United Teachers Los Angeles officials and Los Angeles Unified School District administrators fear this is the first time, since widespread layoffs of the mid-1990s, that teachers could actually lose their jobs.

Unlike permanent teachers, who must be notified in March if they will not have a job in the next school year, teachers who have worked for two years or fewer only get two weeks notice.

The notifications do not guarantee that teachers will lose their jobs.

The district will first target 2,290 nonpermanent teachers who have the least seniority and who teach elementary school and secondary school English and math. Layoffs would also target interns and provisional teachers, who have not passed their final exams in the subjects they teach.

District officials say the layoffs can be avoided if money can be found from the state. Republican Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a proposed budget deal to lawmakers last week, that seeks to close a nearly $15 billion gap. But unless the legislature can agree on a budget plan, the state could be flat broke by February.

Based on an average cost per teacher of $60,000, including salary and benefits, laying off 2,290 teachers would save the district more than $137 million over a full year.