Ypsilanti Mid-Year Teacher Layoffs

I was very sad to hear that several Ypsilanti teachers were given layoff notices last week. The precipitating event is that based on count day, Ypsilanti lost about 118 students, or about 3% of their student population. The Ypsilanti schools are currently operating under a deficit elimination plan from the state, and there's a lot of pressure to act quickly to avoid the possibility of an emergency financial manager. I haven't seen the numbers, but I assume the bulk of the losses were at the high school level if that is where the cuts are targeted.

On annarbor.com, commenter ironyinthesky2 writes,

4.5 teachers, but 3 of those are coming from RCTC, where 3 programs (one full) are being shut down.

I don't know if it's true that RCTC is being targeted. In fact, I don't know anything about the Regional Career Technical Center except what I read on the Ypsilanti schools web site. RCTC has auto, building trades, and food programs, and is available to high school students from Ypsilanti, Lincoln, and Willow Run.

Does this mean that class sizes will get even larger?

Ypsilanti now has quite a few high school options, so it's understandable that they would have an "Exploring High School Options" event on 1/24/12 at 6:30 p.m. at Ypsilanti High School.

Anyway, the layoffs are not a done deal until the board votes on this. The Ypsilanti school board meets Monday 1/23/12 at 7 p.m. at Ypsilanti High School.