Think back to your favorite elementary school teacher. Maybe they were kind and comforting, always ensuring you were learning and loving school. Maybe they were older with lots of wisdom (and patience) and reminded you of a grandparent. Maybe they were young with enough energy to keep up with your spritely younger self.
Most adults fondly remember their times in elementary, middle, and high school, and many attribute that warm nostalgic feeling to the devoted teachers they met along the way. Those devoted, experienced teachers may be becoming few and far between as their career continues to become more unstable and even less lucrative.
On March 15, many California public school teachers received preliminary layoff notices, pink slips, alerting them that due to gaps in the budget, their spot in the 2025-2026 school year may disappear. Over 2,300 credentialed school faculty, nurses, teachers, and librarians, throughout the state were notified.
Major School Districts like the San Francisco Unified School District notified 395 faculty despite being one of the most highly funded districts according to Newsweek. Santa Ana Unified School District in Orange County fell second in total preliminary layoff notices, issuing 351 pink slips. Grossmont Union High here in San Diego issued 37 notices, markedly less than that of other areas, but still a massive loss for both teachers and students.
The reason for the significant increase in layoffs is due to a shrink in many district budgets due to decreased enrollment. Teacher salaries and funds make up over 80% of some district’s costs, so when budgets are down the first item to cut back on is teacher salaries and positions.
“The Covid relief grant funds are no longer flowing, and they’re expired, so we’re at the point now where we can’t sustain the counseling ratios and the class sizes that we have,” said Santa Ana Unified Chief Business Officer Ron Hacker.
Some districts attempted to encourage early retirement for veteran teachers rather than layoff younger counterparts, but to little success. Santa Rosa Unified also offered a bonus to teachers who confirmed they would not be working there in the coming year.
Despite “making sense” on paper to many economically, the impacts of these layoffs not only on the coming school year but long term could be worrisome. “Layoffs are devastating and chaotic to our school communities and harm student learning conditions. This is even happening in communities like Pasadena, where educators and students lost their homes in wildfires. Our union will not stand by. We will demand that every single one of these notices is rescinded in the coming weeks,” said California Teachers Association President David Goldberg in a statement.
Mass layoffs deplete the number of young teachers learning the ropes who will later become the backbone of their school as veteran teachers. By creating unstable and inconsistent employment many teachers may opt out of the profession or student-teachers may never enter. Quality education stems from not only a funded school but also an enthusiastic experienced teacher.
“I think that the fear of being laid off really deters good teachers from doing the job. For teachers who are affected by the layoffs, they may lose their confidence and lose their passion for the profession,” said Del Norte High School senior Olivia Pirolli.
Even as recently as 2007 and 2009 during the Great Recession, mass teacher layoffs were attributed as the reason for the current teacher shortage according to the Education Commission of the States. Many speculate that if layoffs like these today continue, another even more severe teacher shortage may be incoming.
In a survey of 24 CCHS Student’s opinions on the layoffs, senior Bella Aguilera stated, “Older teachers have much more experience, hence their incredible and resourceful teaching styles […] Students are able to appreciate these teachers more, and therefore create a better academic atmosphere. Without elder-teachers, our education system will weaken.”
“Students will have less of a grasp on materials and a further increase in educational disparities for students attending public high school that rely on funding for education,” said CCHS senior Kiera O’Malley.
Although there is a degree of separation between CCHS and public schools on issues such as these, it is important to be aware of what peers only an exit away might be experiencing when they go to school. It is also important to take into consideration the sacrifice many teachers make going into a career that has been under fire lately.
