Pink Slips for 99 Teachers

Cash-strapped schools aren’t only a Philadelphia thing. Another area school district is firing teachers due to a budget crunch.

Dozens of teachers in the Allentown School District are being laid off.

Teacher's union President Deb Tretter says the 99 teachers received pink slips from their principals last Thursday and Friday. The district's proposed $242 million budget eliminates 132 teaching positions; 99 of those are coming through layoffs.

School board President Robert Smith Jr. says the cuts are very disappointing and that the district is losing a lot of good talent.

The district was facing a budget shortfall of as much as $22.4 million when officials began reviewing the plan in January. Smith says the current budget still has a $5 million deficit with the cuts and a tax increase; he says that will have to be made up from reserve funds unless the school gets more state aid.

Last week, the Philadelphia School District announced that almost 3,800 employees were being laid off as part of more than $300 million in budget cuts for the cash-strapped district.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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