Was the Threat of Teacher Layoffs Overstated?

Many dismissals premature, were rescinded before federal and state bailout

RALEIGH (By Karen Welsh, Carolina Journal Online) — Last spring, thousands of teachers throughout North Carolina found pink slips in their boxes, informing them of impending job losses in the 2010-11 school year. Protest marches occurred and a media blitz ensued, with newspapers across the state deeming the action of school boards as “catastrophic” and “disastrous.”

As the hoopla subsided, however, most school boards quietly finalized their operating budgets and hired many of those same teachers back into the classrooms.

This year, most school districts across North Carolina recalled a majority of their pink-slipped teachers, minimizing classroom losses before Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called lawmakers back from their summer vacations in August to approve an emergency $10 billion spending package on public education.