State inaction prompts layoffs of 44 teachers

By By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
April 14, 2004
On the day before the deadline to notify teachers whether their contracts will be renewed for the next school year, Lauderdale County Superintendent David Little is delivering some bad news.
The county school district is laying off 44 teachers.
Little said the decision, while a tough one to make, was necessary because the district has to plan for the worst until the Legislature makes a decision about funding for education.
Little said the non-renewal letters are going mostly to first-year teachers and teachers of elective subjects. He and Assistant Superintendent Ed Mosley will deliver the letters today, the day before the April 15 deadline.
Little's decision comes after legislative wrangling over education funding. The House passed a bill to fully fund K-12; the Senate has yet to act.
The Legislative Budget Committee recommended a cut of about $160 million over last year and school districts will not know how much funding they will receive until after the first of May.
Little said some administrators and office personnel also may be let go, but he said the deadline to make those decisions is June 15.
Meridian School Superintendent Sylvia Autry said her district is not renewing some first-year teacher contracts but not because of budgeting shortfalls. She said teacher performance is the reason for the layoffs.
Autry added that she wants to keep cuts as far away from the classroom as possible. She also said that the student-to-teacher ratio is such in Meridian that fewer teachers shouldn't make a big difference in classroom size.
Autry said that if education is not fully funded next year, some Meridian teachers will lose their jobs.