17 Teachers Among 62 Layoffs At Chicago Public Schools
UPDATED 4:33 p.m. 2/19/16
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Public Schools will be sending layoff notices to 62 employees, including 17 teachers, the district said Monday afternoon as it cuts millions of dollars from school budgets at the start of the second semester.
In a press release, CPS said the layoffs include 43 full-time staff and 19 part-time employees.
CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said the 17 laid-off teachers should not affect class size.
"We're doing what we have to to finish the school year and keep the doors open and open the school doors next year and we're going to minimize those impacts on the classroom," Claypool said. "Part of this was working closely with our principals, part of it was using federal grant money to minimize the impact of some of these cuts."
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To see a breakdown of the layoffs, click here.
The layoffs are part of an effort to cut about $26 million from school budgets after the district was unable to reach a contract deal with the CTU, and did not receive the additional state aid it has been seeking from Springfield.
A CPS spokesperson said the district worked with principals to minimize teacher layoffs.
Monday afternoon, CTU vice president Jesse Sharkey said the cuts are a "travesty" and would result in disruptions.
"Mid-year layoffs, even of a single teacher, is no way to run a school system, especially when the $26 million of cuts that have gone through to the classroom are cuts that they could have taken out of just one TIF project," Sharkey said.
Sharkey credited the ingenuity of principals with blunting some of the impact of the cuts.
The next public fight between the board and union will focus on the pension. The board could eliminate its contribution to teacher pensions in just two days, meaning teachers would see a seven percent reduction in their paychecks.
"If they go through with it you can expect our union to prepare for an unfair labor practice strike on April 1," Sharkey said.
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The layoffs are something principals have had to pore over since Feb. 9, when CPS informed each school how much money was being cut from their budgets. Every principal was given until Monday to figure out how many layoffs their school would need.
Affected positions include teachers, teachers' aides, and other support staff.
Monday morning, while early voting, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said unless state lawmakers get their act together, and provide additional funding for CPS, the most vulnerable will be hit hard.
"We are continuing to make major financial reforms. The reforms now are coming because the state of Illinois has the wrong priorities as it relates to funding education. They are penalizing districts with poor children," he said.
One elementary school principal said he won't lay off any employees, because he was able to eliminate open positions, and move other staff around. Other principals weren't so lucky.
The union has scheduled a telephone town hall with its members Monday night to discuss the state of contract talks.
