Teachers Paint the Town and State Red

If you see a teacher wearing red today, it may be more than a fashion statement.

Today is Red Tuesday – so named because it's the state-set deadline for school districts to issue preliminary layoff notices to certificated employees. 

The California Teachers Association will organize demonstrations all over the state to encourage lawmakers to support Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal, which calls for a special election in June to extend some taxes to fund education.

CTA President David Sanchez will announce the latest statewide estimates of teacher layoffs at a late-afternoon news conference in the Bay Area.

"The fact that thousands of educators could lose their jobs is a wake-up call for the damage state cuts are doing to a generation of students,” Sanchez said in a statement.

A total of 24 teachers in the San Leandro Unified School District will have received pink slips by the end of today. A 25th teacher opted to resign rather than be laid off, according to Jon Sherr, president of the San Leandro Teachers Association. 

SLTA members aren't holding a formal protest today, Sherr said, but some will be wearing red in support for their embattled colleagues in the district and across the state.

Thousands of California teachers expect to lose their jobs to the state budget crisis. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson this week declared a fiscal emergency in California schools. In a statement released Monday, he warned school districts to "prepare for the worst" in case lawmakers vote against placing a tax extension measure on the June ballot.

If voters shoot down a tax extension on the June ballot, the San Leandro Unified School District could lose over $2.5 million in yearly funding. The district will provide an update on finances at . 

The statewide loss would come to $2 billion, or about $335 per student.

Brown's budget proposal acknowledges that K-12th grade education has shouldered a "disproportionate" amount of budget cuts in recent years. In fact, $18 billion was slashed from state and local school funding over the past three years. 

Adding financial stress on school districts are cuts to mental health services. Because of its own strained budget, Alameda County is shifting some costs for students who receive residential treatment back to the school district.

State law requires public school districts to provide education to disabled and special needs students. Until now, Alameda County covered the boarding costs of students in residential treatment programs. Starting immediately, however, school districts will be required to cover these costs, in addition to the education costs they already cover for these students. 

SLUSD has four students in residential treatment programs, according to Katherine Piccus, director of Special Services for the school district. At nearly $9,000 per student per month in boarding costs, the district will have to cover close to $108,000 to board the students through June 31. 

Whether the district will have to cover these costs next year is still unclear, Piccus said. 

“It’s keeping a lot of directors of special ed up at night,” Piccus said. 

Tonight's school board meeting takes place at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers.