More Than 100 Staff Laid Off In Newark Schools

More than 100 employees of the Newark Public Schools have received layoff notices.

Schools spokeswoman Renee Harper said Friday that 129 positions in the state's largest school district will be eliminated, including department chairs and supervisors, effective July 1.

Harper says the schools had too many supervisors. Principals will absorb the duties of those laid off, and some may be hired back.

The employees are members of the City Association of Supervisors and Administrators Union. The union says the move will compromise learning and disrupt the implementation of required national standards.

Harper says the moves show that the "status quo is gone" after the district approved a landmark contract in November. That contract allowed educators to earn more earlier in their careers and offered bonuses for teaching in low-performing schools and hard-to-staff subjects

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