Ann Arbor Public Schools sent layoff notices to 55 teachers this week, according to the district's union, and at least 46 additional teachers have agreed to voluntarily leave their jobs.
The layoffs and voluntary separations are in response to a $25 million budget deficit, which shocked and angered parents and teachers when announced earlier this year..
Union president Fred Klein said the financial crisis is embarrassing for a district of Ann Arbor's reputation — and was avoidable. He said the district could have and should have naturally downsized the number of teachers via attrition over the past 10 years.
"We've been warning the district of the hiring — the number of teachers that were added — since 2015, while our student enrollment declined in that same period, and they didn't listen to us," Klein said.
"I don't know how we bounce back from this," he added. "I know that we have amazing educators in our classrooms and my hope is that they will service the students to the best of their ability and that we will be able to recall all of the people that have been laid off in the next year or two."
Klein said the district must offer new job postings to laid off teachers for three years after they are pink slipped out.
He said the union had hoped that more teachers would have voluntarily resigned from the district, after striking a deal with administration to offer a $15,000 lump-sum retirement fund payment, if between 75 and 99 teachers took advantage of the offer.
He said the 46 teachers who did voluntarily separate from the district will not be eligible for a bonus because the agreed-upon number wasn't reached, and their decision to leave can't be revoked.
Klein said it's too early to know what other changes the district will have to make due to the departures. Those changes could include increasing class sizes, combining some 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms, and assigning high school teachers to teach multiple subjects, or subjects they have not taught for some time.
A district spokesperson said it's currently unable to confirm the numbers of layoffs and voluntary separations.
