Yesterday's LA Times

Pink slips in L.A. Unified

The Los Angeles Board of Education voted to send preliminary layoff notices to nearly 9,000 employees this afternoon. The notices, approved in two separate actions, will be sent by Friday and will affect about 5,500 instructors.

Teachers union members are holding a protest against the notices. District officials said they are hopeful that they will not have to lay off that many employees. The notices will not be finalized until the summer. The district, the nation's second largest, is facing an anticipated $700-million shortfall.