That is an approximation of how many teachers, counselors, administrators and other staff our district will be losing between this year and next due to budget cuts. We're not the only ones, either. My college roommate's district is cutting $50 million from their budget, which could result in more than 100 teachers being cut. Teachers, not staff. Other districts are putting the purchase of new textbooks on hold, not filling the positions of those who retire, and asking teachers to take a paycut. The unemployment rate in Oregon went up over 12% today; once all these districts get finished laying people off we'll see it go quite a bit higher.
I don't know yet if I'm going to lose my job for sure. Of course I'm worried - I teach an elective, which is "expendable" in the minds of most, and I'm only in my second year in the district. Sadly, cuts are made based on seniority, not ability. In the meantime, I'm busy looking for jobs outside of education (because there aren't likely to be any education jobs available) and updating my resume. It's a scary, scary time.
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