LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
The Clark County School District said layoffs are likely to happen after some 18,000 teachers won arbitration for pay raises.
On Wednesday, the district said the ruling will result in paying salary increases to teachers for this school year and the next despite a deepening budget deficit.
CCSD said a budget reassessment will move forward and is slated to be presented May 16. The reassessment may reveal how many jobs the district will be forced to eliminate after the pay raises, CCSD indicated.
The decision comes after months of negotiation between teachers and the district as well as protests from the teachers' union. The union contends that the pay raises, based on experience and educational advancement, are on a contract agreed before the school year.
Furthermore, the Clark County Education Association also said more than $70 million is in the district's fund balance at the end of the 2011-2012 fiscal year and no layoffs are needed to balance the budget.
The Clark County School District said pay raises will force the layoffs of up to 1,000 teachers.
The dispute stems from CCSD's effort to close a $63 million budget shortfall without layoffs. CCSD said it asked teachers to agree to a pay freeze to help balance the budget.
Despite the decision, CCSD Superintendent Dwight Jones said he is committed to giving quality teaching to students under the district's graduation initiative.
"While this is certainly not the outcome we wanted, there are no winners here," Jones said. "While some teachers will receive raises, other teachers will receive pink slips. That's not what's best for our students."
Jones added, "This decision puts us right back where we started, with a $40 million deficit for the upcoming school year, and with tough decisions that just got tougher."
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