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Providence, R.I., to pink slip all teachers

A pink slip, courtesy of rutthenut via Flickr.

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The Providence, R.I., school district says it plans to send out dismissal notices to every one of its 1,926 teachers, a move that has union leaders up in arms.

Superintendent Tom Brady, in a letter to all teachers, said the Providence School Board will vote Thursday on a resolution to dismiss every teacher, effective the last day of school, The Providence Journal reported.

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"We are forced to take this precautionary action by the March 1 deadline given the dire budget outline for the 2011-2012 school year in which we are projecting a near $40 million deficit for the district," Brady wrote.

"Since the full extent of the potential cuts to the school budget have yet to be determined, issuing a dismissal letter to all teachers was necessary to give the mayor, the School Board and the district maximum flexibility to consider every cost savings option, including reductions in staff."

State law requires that teachers be notified about potential changes to their employment status by March 1, the Journal said.

"To be clear about what this means," Brady wrote, "this action gives the School Board the right to dismiss teachers as necessary, but not all teachers will actually be dismissed at the end of the school year."

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"This is beyond insane," Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith said Tuesday. "Let's create the most chaos and the highest level of anxiety in a district where teachers are already under unbelievable stress."

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, in a statement issued Tuesday, said the uncertainty around the city's finances, combined with the March 1 deadline, led to the decision.

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