SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Wednesday, May 15, was the deadline for the San Diego Unified School District to make a final decision about a round of layoffs. Hundreds of staff members and teachers are waiting to hear whether they can keep their jobs after the district voted on the layoffs back in March.
At the time, educators and parents expressed concern.
"Please don't do this. There's no reason to do this," said a teacher. "The undo stress, the emotion."
In March San Diego Unified sent out layoff notices for about 400 positions, including more than 200 teachers. That means programs like Barnard Elementary School's Mandarin immersion could take a serious hit.
"There are precious few opportunities for young Americans to learn and practice Chinese in an immersion setting," said a local parent. "This means that language learning opportunities take on even greater importance."
According to the district, money is tight because of factors like dropping enrollment and the end of COVID financial relief grants. That created a budget of $94 million.
The planned layoffs would cut that deficit in half.
Officials tell ABC 10News, they also plan to factor in retirements and attrition to lay off as few people as possible. But until the district releases its final decision, employees and families don't really know which positions are here to stay.
The San Diego Unified School District tells ABC 10News it plans to release its final decision Thursday.
