Updated at 3:05 p.m.
Teachers in Brookline will receive pink slips by day’s end. The town’s school department blamed a $6.3 million dollar shortfall in next school year’s budget on the economic fall-out from the Covid-19 crisis.
“Restaurant taxes have declined, parking meters have been suspended, and commercial revenue to the town of Brookline has fallen precipitously since March,” reads a letter sent to Brookline Schools parents and staff this afternoon and signed by school committee chair, Julie Schreiner-Oldham.
The letter does not specify how many lay-off notices will be issued, but Brookline educators tell WGBH News they’ve been informed 300 staff members will receive them.
In a statement, the Brookline Educators Union said the school committee "has failed in its obligation to protect schools."
“The School Committee is content to accept an austerity narrative and put in place a plan that will be devastating for students and unduly harsh for dedicated educators,” Brookline Educators Union President Jessica Wender-Shubow said in the statement.
The union added in the statement that during the pandemic, "the committee has failed to engage educators in meaningful dialogue around remote learning and the future of public education in Brookline."
The budget shortfall means the schools will have less funding for fiscal 21 than fiscal 20, but in her letter, Schreiner-Oldham indicates the Brookline School Committee is seeking additional funding from the state, federal and town governments.
“It is our deep hope that this measure is temporary, and we hope that we will be able to recall our staff and be back at full capacity by the start of the next school year,” she wrote.
The school committee will discuss the budget at meeting on June 4.
