BROCKTON, Mass. — Hundreds of staff and teachers will be laid off in Brockton as just some of the millions of dollars in cuts coming as the city tries to close a big budget gap.
Nearly 350 pink slips are going out and 189 teachers are scheduled to get them Friday. City officials say these cuts will be felt.
According to city officials, these layoffs could mean larger class sizes and fewer after-school programs and activities. They say this all comes down to needing more funding from the state.
The schools are facing a $16 million budget deficit. The city is missing almost $5 million in charter school reimbursements and lost more than $6 million because of a new method of calculating low income students.
Along with 189 teachers, a number of administrators, paraprofessionals, bilingual aides, custodians, non-union positions and a school police officer will make up the 344 expected to be laid off.
Officials say this was a last resort.
“We have cut everything else out of our budget the past two years that we possibly can. I can’t cut electricity, I can’t not heat the schools, those bills have to be paid,” said Brockton Chief Budget Officer Aldo Petronio.
Officials say similar sized cities like Worcester, Lawrence, Revere and Chelsea are facing similar cuts. It’s unclear if or how many of these positions may be rehired. Brockton has a history of handing out pink slips around this time of the year and bringing those positions back by the fall.
The mayor told the Boston Globe this year is different because of the size of the deficit.
Cox Media Group
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