Rochester School Superintendent Terry Dade says the City School District is having exploratory talks with the Rochester Teachers Association on contract concessions that could reduce the need for teacher layoffs.
Dade is forced with the need to close a budget shortfall that will balloon to $65 million by the end of the school year if no action is taken. His plan to balance the budget includes laying off 152 teachers. The City School Board is scheduled to vote on that plan next week.
Dade says he deeply feels the stories he's been hearing in the community, in schools and at board meetings about the damage the teacher layoffs will cause. But he says he has the legal responsibility to balance the budget. And he says he's "not in a position to rely on hope."