The Boston School committee passed an $812 million budget that includes 500 layoffs. The budget is 2.5% smaller than previous years due to funding cuts that force the layoffs. The cuts include 212 teachers. Boston Mayor, Thomas M. Menino, is asking teachers for some concessions, including a one-year wage freeze, to avoid those layoffs. The Boston Teachers Union has thus far refused to agree to such measures, but several other Boston unions have accepted wage freezes to help tackle the city's budget shortfall.
See "Boston School Committee Oks budget; 500 jobs to be cut", O'Ryan Johnson, Boston Herald, March 25, 2009