Concessions in the San Diego Unified School District may be near, a week after more than 1,500 teachers, staff and counselors in San Diego were told they would lose their jobs.
On Tuesday, many of those teachers showed up to the school board's meeting -- the first since trustees voted to approve the final layoff notices for 1,543 teachers, staff and counselors.
Several spoke during the meeting during a public comment session.
Among those protesting were teachers from Fay Elementary School in City Heights where 27 out of 29 teachers were given layoff notices. An additional teacher was transferred. Parents can't believe they're losing nearly everyone their children have come to know and love.
"Some schools got one or two. But for the [schools] that have all of them laid off, that's not fair," said Fay Elementary parent Saharo Ali.
Even though some teachers have eight or nine years of experience, Fay Elementary's principal said this is common among schools in lower-income areas.
"Many schools in these areas -- City Heights, southeast San Diego -- tend to have the least amount of seniority," said Principal Eileen Moreno.
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And with the reality of job loss, some teachers hope their union and school board will finally start talking.
"We wanna be here, so we're willing to take concessions," said Sharon Fargason, a third grade teacher at Fay Elementary. "So I hope that agreement can be made and other teachers feel the same way we do."
This may be a possibility. Reached by NBC 7 San Diego, the teacher's union president Bill Freeman said he plans to sit down with school board tomorrow and look at their finances.
"We don't know if the layoffs are necessary," Freeman said. "Our priority is to get those 1,500 jobs back."
The concessions may be able to make up part of the gap in education funding.
