East St. Louis (Ill.) district to send layoff notices to half its teachers

From The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The East St. Louis (Ill.) Board has voted to send "reduction in force" notices to 287 teachers in an effort to save $9 million. As part of the reductions, officials also are proposing to shutter three schools: McHenry and Edgemont, both pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, and A.M. Jackson, a K-8 school. The district, which serves about 7,300 students, has 562 full-time teaching positions.