Around 2,000 teachers statewide could get the ax as soon as June as school boards across the state try to figure out how to cut costs in a tough economic climate, according to the Hartford Courant.
The Connecticut Education Association calls this the worst climate in years.
"Even teachers who have lived through earlier rounds of layoffs have not seen anything quite like this," John Yrchik, the Executive Director of the C.E.A, told the Courant.
Of course, with teaching jobs eliminated, there will be larger class sizes in many school systems. This is a nationwide trend. An estimated 100,000 to 300,000 teaching jobs across the country are being considered for elimination, according to the Courant.
"These are much tougher years. People are saying this is the worst recession since the Depression, and I think we're seeing the impact of that on education and a number of other areas, as well," Joe Cirasuolo, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents told the Courant.
There is some hope that a proposal made in Congress to spend $23 billion to bail out public schools and colleges will help avert widespread teacher layoffs.
Teachers have to be notified of a possible layoff by April 1, but many times, schools do not let go as many teachers as originally planned.
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In Connecticut, towns such as Naugatuck and Wallingford have been particularly hard hit. Many districts are attempting to minimize the layoffs by cutting in other areas.
Some have rebid custodian contracts, eliminated late buses, cut sports programs and even proposed cutting the length of the mandated 180-day school year, according to the Courant.
The Connecticut Association of Urban Superintendents has even toyed with the idea of shortening the school week to four days, but realizes this is a long shot to save money.
"The reality is that many parents count on school as a place for their kids to be," New London Superintendent Nicholas A. Fischer, a member of the association, told the Courant. "This is not school systems trying to wreak havoc. We, as a state, are trying to come to grips with what people want. You can't keep saying 'no new taxes' and expect the quality of services to improve."
And this is only the calm before the storm, according to some administrators. Connecticut will lose $271 million of stimulus money in the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which will put even more pressure on struggling districts, according the Courant.
