Seattle Public Schools recalling 57 teachers

Seattle Public Schools says it is recalling 57 of the certificated teachers it sent layoff notices to in mid-May and that most will be returning to their old jobs.

The school district said it's in a position to bring the teachers back because student enrollment is increasing; a hiring freeze has saved the district money; and the district has a better sense than it did about how much stimulus money it is getting.

"I am very pleased to be able to recall 57 of our teachers," Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson said Thursday. "Our teachers are at the very heart of our success, so our first priority when funds become available is to restore teaching positions."

In mid-May, the district announced that it had notified 172 teachers, counselors and other certificated staff that they would not have jobs in September.

Along with 33 first- or second-year teachers whose contracts were not renewed a few months earlier, some 205 of the district's certificated employees were facing joblessness.

Of those teachers still on the reduction-in-force list, Goodloe-Johnson said, "We are saddened that we cannot at this point recall these teachers, but we cannot predict ... the extent to which additional recalls may be possible over the summer."

The layoffs were driven largely by deep cuts in the state budget, which included about $800 million in reductions for the state's public schools.