273 Teachers and 198 Others To Lose Jobs in City Schools

Cambridge will be forced to lay-off 471 school employees, including 273 teachers and 38 administrators, and close five schools as a result of Proposition 2 1/2, assistant superintendent Oliver S. Brown told the Cambridge School Committee last night.

But the school board will not act on the recommendations for "a couple of months," budget committee chairman Glenn F. Koocher '71 said, adding, "Until then a lot of people will go through the fear of being told they have a terminal illness."

About 100 people showed up to hear a plan that calls for what City Councilor Alfred E. Vellucci called "the dismantling of the Cambridge public schools.

"I'm surprised that there aren't more teachers here tonight--there should be," Vellucci said.

Brown said the cuts would have a "disasterous effect" on education, and Koocher said they will burden classroom teachers with a greater responsibility than they've felt at any time in the last 25 years.

"We're not going to enter any cannabilism with other employees over budget cuts," Roland LaChance, president of the Cambridge Teachers' Association said, adding that his group would monitor the cuts to guarantee the enforcement of the teachers' contract, which requires all layoffs to be based on seniority.

Under the superintendent's plan, 34 per cent of Cambridge's teachers, 38 per cent of the administrators, and 70 per cent of the teacher aides would lose their jobs.

Entire programs, such as special reading programs and other subjects would be cut to reduce the school budget by $7.925 million.

Of that amount, about $5.6 million would be cut from salaries and $2.3 million from non-personnel items.

City manager James L. Sullivan has ordered the school department to come up with 41 percent of the city's $14.7 million overall revenue decrease.

As Brown announced the recommendation for cuts, few among the parents and teachers in the Rindge and Latin cafeteria reacted. "We have a roomfull of people that look like they just got a shot full of novacaine," Koocher said.