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DETROIT (AP) --Thousands of teachers and other school employees in metropolitan Detroit are receiving layoff notices from districts unsure of their financial condition in coming months.
Many of the teachers will be recalled by the start of the next school year. But educators say it's too early to rule out permanent layoffs.
Detroit Public Schools, the state's largest district with 140,000 students, issued layoff notices Wednesday to about 2,800 employees and staff members, including about 1,900 full-time teachers.
Notices already have gone out to school employees in the Royal Oak, Huron Valley, Oak Park, Wayne-Westland, Garden City, Mount Clemens, Warren Consolidated, Brighton and East Detroit districts. In some districts, more than 10 percent of teachers have received layoff notices.
"We need more teachers in our schools, not fewer," Lisa Wright, who has two
daughters in Mount Clemens schools, told The
Detroit News for a Thursday story. "You're going to have more kids in one room with one teacher. Kids won't get the help they need."
Some of the districts are counting on a boost in state funding included in the budget proposal unveiled in February by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The minimum state per-pupil grant is now $6,700; Granholm proposed a $175 per-pupil increase for elementary and middle school students; $225 more for high school students; and $33 million for at-risk kids from disadvantaged homes.
But even if the Republican-controlled Legislature approves Democrat Granholm's proposal, schools still must dig out of a budget hole created by inflation and previous school aid cuts.
"Even with a $175-per-student increase, districts won't come close to the buying power they had in the 2002-03 school year," said Margaret Trimer-Hartley, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Education Associati
on.
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/in...st=newsmichigan
DETROIT (AP) --Thousands of teachers and other school employees in metropolitan Detroit are receiving layoff notices from districts unsure of their financial condition in coming months.
Many of the teachers will be recalled by the start of the next school year. But educators say it's too early to rule out permanent layoffs.
Detroit Public Schools, the state's largest district with 140,000 students, issued layoff notices Wednesday to about 2,800 employees and staff members, including about 1,900 full-time teachers.
Notices already have gone out to school employees in the Royal Oak, Huron Valley, Oak Park, Wayne-Westland, Garden City, Mount Clemens, Warren Consolidated, Brighton and East Detroit districts. In some districts, more than 10 percent of teachers have received layoff notices.
"We need more teachers in our schools, not fewer," Lisa Wright, who has two
daughters in Mount Clemens schools, told The
Detroit News for a Thursday story. "You're going to have more kids in one room with one teacher. Kids won't get the help they need."
Some of the districts are counting on a boost in state funding included in the budget proposal unveiled in February by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The minimum state per-pupil grant is now $6,700; Granholm proposed a $175 per-pupil increase for elementary and middle school students; $225 more for high school students; and $33 million for at-risk kids from disadvantaged homes.
But even if the Republican-controlled Legislature approves Democrat Granholm's proposal, schools still must dig out of a budget hole created by inflation and previous school aid cuts.
"Even with a $175-per-student increase, districts won't come close to the buying power they had in the 2002-03 school year," said Margaret Trimer-Hartley, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Education Associati
on.
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/in...st=newsmichigan