Teacher Layoffs in MS

Desoto County leaders have cut their budget before, but this is the first time that there's been any discussion of those cuts hitting the classroom. That's the word from Desoto Schools Superintendent Milton Kuykendall, who worked with the School Board to clarify the district's layoff policy last Monday.

Kuykendall says the numbers are shocking, " We could lay off fifty teachers and twice a that many teacher assistants, as well as clerks, secretaries and everything else, if we have to." The Superintendent said the system will have to deal with more than a $17 million cut from the 2011 budget as a direct result of the state's economic woes.