Now, Supt. Tom Brady has gone one better: issuing pink slips to all of the teachers in the school system in anticipation of dire budget cuts. I have previously noted the disconnect in these stories as Congress and President Obama continue to gush billions in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. An effort by Ron Paul to force a pull out of the war to save $100 billion a year was roundly rejected this week.

Every one of the 1,926 teachers in Providence will receive the pink slips. Not all will be fired, but it allows the administration to fire as many teachers as necessary to meet the budget cuts.

They were informed by Brady that “We are forced to take this precautionary action by the March 1 deadline given the dire budget outline for the 2011-2012 school year in which we are projecting a near $40 million deficit for the district. Since the full extent of the potential cuts to the school budget have yet to be determined, issuing a dismissal letter to all teachers was necessary to give the mayor, the School Board and the district maximum flexibility to consider every cost savings option, including reductions in staff.”

The city had a $57-million deficit last year and expects a higher deficit this year

Elk Grove Teachers Hand Out Pink Slips To Bring Budget Awareness

Article found HERE March 31, 2011 1:26 PM

ELK GROVE (CBS13) – Teachers facing layoffs are urging parents to take action to save local schools and jobs from the chopping block.

Teachers from dozens of Elk Grove schools are taking a stand against state-wide budget cuts.

The teachers held a demonstration this morning aimed at getting the attention of parents and lawmakers.  The teachers handed out pink slips of their own giving parents a crash course on just how dire the budget situation is for Elk Grove schools.

Without tax extensions in the state budget, the district will lose out on $40 million.  School administrators paint a grim picture of the consequences: more than 1,000 layoff notices are sent out.  More than 600, or 20% of the district’s teachers, could lose their jobs.

“I’m a teacher-librarian and they’re cutting our staff in half,” said Trudy Summers. “Yesterday, I had students coming in saying ‘Mrs. Summers, you’re going to be gone.  We’re so sad.  We can’t lose you’.”

The shortfall would also mean reduced services across the board, from transportation to counseling.  The Elk Grove district has already cut $100 million out of its budget the last three years.  Teachers warn class sizes could swell to the largest in a decade.

Without the tax extensions, the layoffs would take effect in the fall.  It could be a similar story for school districts across the state.

Nationwide Pink Slip Purgatory Puts Teachers’ Lives On Hold

Article found HERE Posted: 04/ 1/11 01:24 PM ET

Education Week:

This year was not the first in which Monica Iñiguez, a 4th grade teacher at Noble Avenue Elementary, in Los Angeles, received a pink slip.

But it is the first year that her husband, a teacher in a nearby middle school, also received a pink slip, the first year they’ve been in escrow on a house, and the first year she has doubts about whether teachers will agree to furloughs to stave off cuts, as they have in prior years.

Read the whole story: Education Week