Oregon Possibly Losing 124 in Education Employees

Oregon’s Eugene School District 4J informed employees Tuesday that 124 potential layoffs were coming down the pike.  Both teachers and other classified and licensed staff in the district would be affected by the layoffs, which may lead to reassigned staff and larger class sizes.

The potential job cuts come on the heels of an August Congress education job bill that will help keep educators.  The union contract hammered out in June stated that as the district received additional funding, school days would be added back to the year, which had previously been reduced to avoid layoffs.  The issue at hand is that while Federal funding may have increased, the State of Oregon’s projected revenues are dropping, which more than offsets the new federal funding.

The layoffs, if they happen, will be effective December 17th, 2010, which will result in mid-year staff reassignments for the whole district, further adding to the chaos surrounding the mess for the students.  The district of 4J is already dipping into their resesrves to balance the current budget, and any restoration of days would lead to more reserve spending and potential layoffs.