A NC school board announces teacher assistants being laid off

BURLINGTON, N.C. (AP) – A North Carolina school board is laying off 130 teacher assistants as it deals with budget worries.

The Times-News of Burlington reported that the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education voted Wednesday to lay off the teacher assistants.

School Superintendent Randy Bridges says the 130 people being laid off were those most recently hired. Bridges had said in June that a reduction in teacher assistants would be one way to deal with reduced state funding.

He also said teaching positions could be lost because the state might propose increased class sizes. Bridges said Thursday more than 200 teachers have been warned they might not have jobs for the coming school year.

Legislators are still working on the state budget.

Information from: Times-News, http://www.thetimesnews.com

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)