Last Friday, seven Ballard High School teachers and staff were given notice that they would no longer have a job with the Seattle School District, and since then, Whitman Middle School, Adams Elementary, West Woodland, Salmon Bay and Whittier have also experienced a loss of both teachers and staff.

Layoffs include six teachers and a counselor at Whitman; three teachers at Adams; two more at West Woodland and Salmon Bay each, and lastly, one at Whittier.

They join a total of 172 teachers and certificated staff in the district that were laid off in response to an estimated $34 million budget shortfall for 2009-2010.

“We had teachers (laid off) that are in language arts, social studies, business and counseling positions,” said Keven Wyncoop, assistant principal of Ballard High School. “As of now those positions will be filled by other staff members across the district that have been displaced, out of jobs, returning from leave, or their school programs were closed.”

The layoffs are being implemented based on seniority within teaching or job category based on contractual agreements with the Seattle Education Association, according to the district.

“We think it’s really tragic,” said Wyncoop. “The teachers that got cut are newer teachers that are often starting out in their personal lives. A couple were making wedding plans, had babies on the way but it’s pretty common with younger teachers.”

Wyncoop said it was unfortunate because those that were cut were the life blood of programs at school, such as the Building Leadership Team.

“A lot of the energy and vitality gets hit by this (...) ” Wyncoop said.

“This is a very painful decision to have to make,” said Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson in a statement. “We worked for many months to keep budget cuts away from the classroom. It is extremely difficult to layoff teachers and school-based staff, people who make a difference in students’ lives every day.”

Along with the staff cuts, Goodloe-Johnson said that closing the $34 million budget gap required a combination of strategies, which included a reduction in central office staff, hiring freezes, increased efficiencies in operations such as transportation and nutrition services, closing schools, a responsible use of reserves, and freezing cost-of-living adjustments.

Wyncoop said unfortunately there's a chance that the teachers that are let go will not necessarily come back to Ballard.

Seattle Public Schools representatives said the district is planning a series of counseling and resource support for staff who have received layoff notices.