19 teachers laid off, 300 displaced as schools crunch budget numbers
The Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers Association says 19 teachers have been laid off as schools crunch budget numbers.
NLTA president Jim Dinn said Monday that 300 teachers have been reassigned or transferred, but some have no job to go to.
Dinn told CBC News that in one school on the Burin Peninsula, a teacher is going out the door even though the school is hiring for the expanded kindergarten program.
That's because high school teachers can't move into primary jobs they're not trained for.
May 7 was the deadline for schools to notify teachers of how they were handling cuts to teacher allocations.
Dinn said it's a trying time for his members, some of whom will have to move from one part of the province to another.
"For people with families, it's even more of a challenge," he said. "Some have found themselves transferred from the east coast to central or the west coast,"
Following the April 14 budget, Education Minister Dale Kirby said that there would be a net loss of 73 teaching positions this fall, but predicted no layoffs because of early retirements.
Dinn said the numbers released Monday take retirements into account.
He said if more teachers decide to retire before September, the 19 people laid off would have first crack at those jobs, "subject to qualifications."