LAUSD Rescinds 505 Layoff Notices

Layoff notices that were sent to 505 LAUSD teachers and counselors will be rescinded, district Superintendent Ramon Cortines said Friday.

"We empowered local schools to make the purchasing decisions they believe will make their instructional program successful," Cortines said. "We are able to rescind these 505 reduction-in-force notices because of the
decisions that were made by School Site Councils. "Despite challenges from the state's continuing budget crisis, LAUSD's plan is working."

The rescinded notices were sent to counselors and secondary, non-permanent teachers.

The district's Board of Education voted April 14 to eliminate nearly 5,400 positions in hopes of closing a budget deficit that was then estimated at nearly $600 million.

The exact number of actual anticipated layoffs has been steadily dropping, thanks to the use of federal stimulus funding and early retirement programs.

But teachers and union officials have continued to blast the district, accusing it of hoarding the bulk of the stimulus funding instead of using it to save jobs. Cortines has denied the accusation, saying the stimulus funds have been used to save jobs, but the district still has a multimillion-dollar budget deficit.

Some teachers have been on a hunger strike to protest the planned firings. One of them told KFWB radio today that the rescission of 505 layoff notices was a positive step, but the hunger strike will continue until even more action is taken to save jobs.

"What we would also like to see is a decrease in class sizes in our schools," he said.

A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, said rescinding the notices was a step in the right direction, but more work needs to be done. Duffy and Cortines had an angry exchange on a morning radio show -- a telephonic interview that ended when Cortines hung up the phone.

"It was an unfortunate exchange this morning that should not have happened," Duffy said. "We need to work together. We don't always agree. On this we don't agree, but again I'm going to thank him for his diligent work in finding a way to bring these people back and tell him that he needs to continue to work very hard with me to find a way to bring back all the other teachers."
 

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