LOS ANGELES, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. stimulus funds have not prevented extensive school layoffs in states with overwhelming budget deficits, education officials said.
In states with manageable budget deficits the stimulus money replaced revenue from local taxpayers, The New York Times reported Tuesday. In those states, many teachers and other school workers who had been laid off were hired back.
In states like Arizona, California and Georgia, however, teachers were laid off, shuffled into new districts or unfamiliar grade levels.
Education experts said many districts were forcing out strong teachers rather than those of limited effectiveness. Officials are dismissing teachers hired most recently because of union contracts or state laws that protect tenured teachers, Timothy Daily, president of the New Teacher Project, a non-profit organization, said.
He said few districts have accurate systems to evaluate teacher performance.
"Districts tend to make their problems worse by laying off good teachers and keeping bad ones," Daly said.
Teacher layoffs also cause class sizes to jump. In Arizona up to 50 students are in many classrooms, and the norm for Los Angeles high schools this school year is 42.5 students per class.
