San Diego Unified SDUSD
Eugene Brucker Education Center is headquarters of the San Diego Unified School District. Photo via @KPBSNews

The San Diego Unified School District on Thursday canceled the majority of teacher layoff notices that officials issued in March.

Based on the financial information available at the time and because of required deadlines, 234 preliminary layoff notices were issued to educators in March. The district, in partnership with the San Diego Education Association, rescinded 225 of those notices on Thursday.

SDUSD Board of Education President Shana Hazan said the district “developed a fiscally sound budget with limited impacts on our tremendous educators.”

“I am grateful for the diligent work of our fiscal and instructional teams, and the support of the San Diego Education Association, in developing a thoughtful plan to maintain stability at our schools by supporting our students and educators in the next school year,” Hazan said.

Following the March notices, educators around the district put up flyers opposing the layoffs, which they described as “shortsighted and unnecessary.”

The district avoided most of the layoffs by reviewing both finances and expected departures, identifying which teachers were retiring or resigning.

This likely means a hiring freeze or slowdown for the district, the second largest in the state, as it reels from COVID-19 funds running dry and attendance figures continuing to dip.

The district is working with principals to finalize staffing plans for the upcoming school year.

– City News Service