Ann Arbor Public Schools face $25M budget gap, resulting in teacher layoffs, staff departures

The Ann Arbor Public Schools code red financial situation has forced 55 pink slips to go out.

Meanwhile, 46 staff members have opted to retire or leave. The district has authorized up to 141 layoffs to fill a $25 million budget gap.

“It’s just so unfair that other people’s inadequacies and incompetencies have cost so many of us a job that we really, really love,” said Joys Kapali, a psychology teacher who got a pink slip.

The district is in a hole for several reasons, chief among them a $14 million accounting error.

Couple that with a loss of more than 1,200 students. The school board has hired Plante Moran to audit the books; that report is pending.

Teachers are deeply concerned about class size and program cuts in the new school year. 

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