Texas education faces layoffs and buyouts due to loss in funding

The Texas Education Agency announced last month that it would be cutting somewhere between 50 to 100 jobs in order to address the expanding budget gap, with possibly even more layoffs in the next two years.

The employee losses are in response to a request by Gov. Rick Perry and other legislators for the TEA to cut expenses by 2.5 percent by the end of the fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31. Education Commissioner Robert Scott submitted a budget proposal that reduces spending in the agency's administration by $5.5 million, most of which will be saved by eliminating personnel.

Debbie Ratcliffe, a TEA spokeswoman, declined to specify how many have been let go to date, but told KXAN Austin News that employees were being individually notified of their termination and that the numbers would be released later.

"We know that this may not be the end of it, depending on what happens with the budget," Ratcliffe said.

School districts across the state have begun making preparations to deal with further expected funding cuts in the Texas public education system, an estimated $9.3 billion over the next two years. Under proposed reductions now under consideration by the legislature, Dallas County school districts could face cuts of over $300 million and may be forced to eliminate more than 7,700 jobs, according to a study by the Center for Public Policy Priorities.

Sandra Guerrero, spokeswoman for the Dallas Independent School District, told The Dallas Morning News that in order to address the impending budget shortfall, DISD has decided to offer its educators resignation incentives – 15 percent of an employee's annual salary, up to $10,000. The teachers must agree to work until the end of the school year, and those on probation are excluded.

As of March 1, 571 DISD teachers accepted the deal, costing the district $5.28 million of the $7 million allotted to the incentives teachers can continue to submit their applications until March 8.

In an interview with Unfair Park, DISD trustee Edwin Flores justified the cost of the buy-outs by comparing them to the expenses involved with outright dismissal. Employees who feel they have been wrongly terminated are entitled to a hearing, which can cost the district $30,000 to $50,000 in legal fees. Also, employees can claim unemployment benefits, which further adds to the cost.

The incentives are intended to offset the number of layoffs that DISD will have to make in the future in order to balance the books. By offering early resignations, the district hopes to have a better idea of staffing levels next year and get a head start on preparing the budget.

Not everyone is happy with the buy-outs. Juana Medina, a sophomore at Townview Magnet Center, expressed her concern at the Dallas school board meeting in February, protesting that if DISD cuts too many teachers, the ratio of students to teachers would be too great for them to handle.

"How am I supposed to learn when my teacher cannot give me the attention I need?" Medina asked.

"I ask you not to take away my dreams or those of thousands of other DISD students," she said."You tell us we are the future. Prove it."

Richland student Zeithel Gonzales is also concerned about the potentially harmful effects the layoffs might have on students' education.

"Students need the attention of teachers so they can learn better… they need that personal help," she said. "With more kids the teachers would place less attention on each student."

Gonzales also pointed out that if the state fails to invest in education, the next generation will be much less prepared to deal with the economic crisis.

Staff buy-outs are not unique to DISD. Other public school districts, as well as some public colleges and universities such as the University of Texas and Texas A&M, have responded to the state's steep budget deficit with layoffs and early retirement offers.