Thousands of teachers are expected to join the ranks of the unemployed in the coming school year. The budget cuts of the past few years and those that are expected in the coming months are the cause for the letters of dismissal the teachers will be getting in the coming weeks.



Education Minister Limor Livnat said that despite cuts of over a billion shekels in the past few years - more than a quarter of the total education budget - the Ministry was able until now to avoid having to remove important teaching positions. The cuts will affect mostly older teachers and those who teach "irrelevant subjects," Livnat said.



The Teachers Union has announced a work dispute, giving it the right to strike the entire school system two weeks from now. "They are looking for easy solutions," Union head Yossi Wasserman said, "instead of dealing with the significance of the firing of thousands of teachers and the reduction of tens of thousands of school hours."



Special education programs will not be affected by the cuts, but those who benefit from long school days and supplementary educational programs will - to the tuen of 25-35% cuts in community center allocations.