We shouldn’t have teacher layoffs, just administrator layoffs. Each administrator costs 2x each teacher and produces nothing of value.
Here’s a though ... why not insist that for a school system to get Federal Funding, 80% of the employees must be classroom teachers (or in-class assistants), cooks, janitors, or bus-drivers. That’s still one admin employee for every 4 teachers. If we did this we could probably double the number of teachers AND spend less money.
Private sector managers understand that admin positions grow like weeds. They have to be cut out every once in a while. Governments are just not equipped to do this. It USED to happen because the money ran out ... then we learned we could just borrow to no end and avoid these tough calls ... so ... here we are.
Actually, we need both teacher and administration layoffs. Teachers aren’t special and we have more than we need or can pay for.
Teachers are incredibly expensive here in NJ; administrators are as well, but there are less of them and they aren’t unionized. Teachers have been granted compensation that there is no possible way to meet; such future costs make states uncompetitive because of that built-in burden (in much the same way retirees’ benefits killed Detroit - Japanese companies weren’t saddled with such costs).
Most tenured teachers don’t produce anything of value, either; our students are not very educated.