MANHATTAN BEACH (AP) — California’s top education official says school districts across the state will have to absorb $4.5 billion in state funding cuts for the next academic year if tax measures are not extended.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said Friday there’s no federal bailout money available this year that will enable districts to hire back some of the 20,000 teachers who were notified this month they may face layoff at the end of June.
Torlakson spoke to reporters before the California Federation of Teachers’ annual convention got under way in Manhattan Beach with record attendance of more than 600 educators.
Torlakson says California now has the nation’s largest class sizes and shortest school year due to $18 billion in funding cuts and 30,000 teacher layoffs over the past three years.
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