Chicago district lays off 557 administrative employees

From The Chicago Sun-Times: A total of 557 Chicago Public School employees were given pink slips last week in what officials said was the largest round of layoffs to ever hit the nation's third-largest school system. A district spokeswoman says 212 employees based in the central office and 345 others who work "citywide" were laid off.

Earlier...from The Chicago Tribune: The first round of Chicago Public Schools layoffs is set to begin Wednesday when more than 550 administrative employees will be fired as part of a cost-cutting plan. The cuts will come from a pool of about 5,300 non-classroom positions and are expected to result in savings of up to $100 million. Another round of layoffs is expected later in the summer as the district's new CEO, Ron Huberman, is looking at up to 1,000 layoffs. The nation's third-largest school district hopes to save as much as $200 million from layoffs and cutting contracts, but even that would amount to less than half of a budget deficit pegged at $475 million to $600 million, depending on state aid.