Little Neck Area Schools to Lose 15 Teachers as Part of Mayor's 'Doomsday' Plan

The state-mandated policy of "last-in, first-out" may have saved District 26 schools, including those in the Little Neck area, from the worst of the city's to balance the budget.

A breakdown of figures released by the city Department of Education Sunday night revealed a total of 15 teaching positions eliminated at six schools attended by Little Neck area students.

Those layoffs represent just under 3 percent of the total number of area teachers — compared to the 6 percent citywide slated to be downsized as a result of the city's austere budget proposal.

Because of state-mandated tenure rules when it comes to layoffs, educators at many northeast Queens schools — which generally have higher teacher retention rates than the city at large — seemed to have dodged the budgetary budget.

But if Mayor Michael Bloomberg and some state legislators have their way, that might not always be the case. The state Senate is currently considering a bill that, among other things, would base teacher firings more on merit than on tenure.

Rob Caloras, president of the Community District 26 Education Council, said he was happy that there would be less disruption to area schools as a result of the "last-in, first out" rule but that the positive outcome was merely a "coincidence."

It doesn’t in any way affect my opposition to the mayor’s proposal to end 'first in first out,'" Caloras said.

Even with the relatively modest amount of proposed teacher layoffs, Caloras predicted pain for District 26 students, including the potential loss of music, art and gym classes.

"It's he kids are going to suffer the most," he said. "I can see class sizes only increasing."