School District Says It Needs $216M to Avert Thousands of Layoffs

A thousand Philadelphia teachers could be laid off if the school district doesn't get more money from some source.

The Philadelphia school district is still broke, if you haven’t noticed. Schools superintendent William Hite says the district needs $216 million or it will have to lay off a thousand teachers, KYW 1060’s Pat Loeb reports. Hite adds he doesn’t believe layoffs are a realistic solution, saying the budget is already too tight to cut any more jobs.

At the Inquirer, Kristen Graham has sobering details from the budget.

If the city, state and labor unions do not come up with at least the $216 million, class sizes would increase to 37, 40 in middle grades and 41 in high schools. There would be 1,000 staff layoffs, and cuts including but not limited to “reductions in special education, nurses, school police, alternative education, transportation, facilities and administrative supports.”

The district will spend $280 million of its budget on debt service this year.

[Inquirer | KYW 1060]