Teachers protest preliminary budget job cuts

? A group of teachers in the borough and across the city is up in arms over Mayor Bloomberg?s preliminary city budget cut and protested at the United Federation of Teachers Headquarters Friday night.

News 12 Staff

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Jan 31, 2009, 9:15 PM

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Updated 5,807 days ago

? A group of teachers in the borough and across the city is up in arms over Mayor Bloomberg?s preliminary city budget cut and protested at the United Federation of Teachers Headquarters Friday night.

Hundreds of teachers gathered in downtown Manhattan expressing concern over the budget cut and say they do not want to see any teachers lose their jobs.

?I?m nervous for my colleagues, especially the younger ones, who have invested in this system and could be out of a job,? says Judy Gerowitz, a teacher at I.S. 96.

Bloomberg?s preliminary plan includes cutting about 15,000 teachers and classroom employees across the city.

Some Bronx residents say the overcrowding in schools could get worse if the plan goes through.

?I think the Bronx is more overcrowded then anywhere else and it is less taken care of in that regard. A lot of people are hurting,? says Arcadio Diaz.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) says the federal stimulus bill that was recently passed includes a $1.8 billion education package and could make the proposed teacher cuts less severe.