SALEM, Ore. — On Friday, morning Salem-Keizer teachers will learn via email if they are losing their job. Salem-Keizer will send an email before 7 a.m. to all classified, licensed and professional-technical employees. That includes teachers.
More than 200 teacher positions are expected to be cut. Around 400 positions will be slashed in total, as Salem-Keizer looks to cut its budget by $70 million.
In an email to staff, the school district said the mass email alerting staff of their job status is an imperfect way to share the news, though said they have heard many staff would prefer the approach, to learn the information more quickly.
Though parents and staff members told KGW on Thursday that morale has been low this week in Salem-Keizer schools.
"Kind of grateful I'm not there to see it today," Susie Respini, a substitute teacher and parent of three students said.
She subbed Monday through Wednesday this week.
"Watching everyone kind of fall apart as the week wore on was hard," Respini said.
RELATED: Salem-Keizer Board of Education approves decision to cut hundreds of positions from the district
Throughout schools, staff are talking about the layoffs and who may lose their jobs, Respini said. Students are talking about the cuts too.
"Yeah, even my second grader,” Respini said.
Now she, and other parents worry cuts could lead to large class sizes.
"It's going to get worse," Respini said.
"To be honest, I'm actually grateful that my son only has four years left," Jane Titchenal, who has an eighth grade son said.
Titchenal said she has spoken to many parents too, who are unaware of the upcoming position cuts. She is concerned the job cuts will lead to more responsibility and stress on teachers, in larger classes.
We reached out to the school district for an interview — they declined our request. They did send KGW a letter sent to parents, which said that while the cuts are painful, they are necessary.
Salem-Keizer also canceled class Friday, to give staff time to process the news.
In a statement, the Salem-Keizer teachers union said that while they understand cuts were necessary, they believe different past spending decisions could have narrowed the impact.
"Educators don't feel valued,” Respini said. “I know a lot of people who are getting close to wanting to leave."