As many as 1,200 Salem-Keizer School District employees woke up to a pink slip or job reassignment between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. notifying them of their job status.

Officials made the decision to conduct the layoff and reassignment by email after consulting with staff and the district’s unions, district spokesman Aaron Harada said.

“Most staff who shared their opinion did not want to have to wait anxiously for hours for an in-person meeting,” Harada said. “Though imperfect, we believe that many staff prefer this approach because it allows them to learn about their future at a time and in a place of their choosing.”

Affected employees will have the option of scheduling a meeting with their administrator to ask questions and receive more details about the changes to their position.

Employees still are expected to go to work Friday, unless they request leave. Many already have done so, Harada said.

Some staff also may choose to work remotely if eligible, he said.

The district took the rare step of closing buildings to students for the day.

Neither ASK-ESP nor the Salem Keizer Education Association responded to the Statesman Journal’s interview requests earlier this week.

ASK-ESP represents about 2,800 district support staff. SKEA represents about 2,300 teachers and other educators.

Why are Salem-Keizer School District employees being laid off?

On April 11, Superintendent Andrea Castañeda announced about 400 employees would be laid off to help address an anticipated budget shortfall.

The layoffs will reduce district administrators by 13.1%, teachers by 8.8%, school-based administrators by 4.9% and classified staff by 4.9%, Castañeda said.

In addition to those losing their jobs, about 800 workers will move to different roles, departments or schools as a result of “bumping,” where laid-off workers with more seniority can take certain other positions.

“We do not get to choose who is impacted, it is determined by employment seniority, certification, and other similar factors and they are controlled by state law and bargaining agreements,” Harada said.

In the end, about 20% of the district’s staff will have either lost their job or moved to a new one.

Castañeda had warned for months that layoffs would be necessary to address a significant budget shortfall.

Despite getting a record amount of money from the state in this year’s legislative session, decreasing enrollment, increases in staff and the end of federal COVID-19 relief funds created the shortfall, Castañeda has said.

“We are facing serious fiscal challenges. We’ve taken responsibility for our district’s financial health and are making painful but necessary reductions,” Harada said.

“Every single one of those positions is a painful loss to the individual who holds it and to our school community as a whole,” he said.

Salem-Keizer is Oregon’s second-largest school district, after Portland Public Schools. It has about 38,1857 students across its 65 elementary, middle and high schools.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Tracy Loew covers education at the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips: tloew@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6779. Follow her on Twitter at @Tracy_Loew

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem-Keizer Public Schools terminate, reassign hundreds