Living with Layoff: How To Wear a Pink Slip

By Ramah Commanday, Ph.D.
School Psychologist

When I got my doctorate from the UC Berkeley school psychology program 10 years ago, I never imagined that my unique claim to fame would be Layoff Survival. But, facing my third layoff in three years, I think that I’m ready to publish.

How did it happen? Back in the confident 1990s, I left a job where I had seniority—and a long commute—to take a job very close to home. And in the years that followed, in three different districts, The Budget Crisis became an annual Spring event, as regular as report cards.

The Budget Crisis seems to unfold in remarkably similar ways, every year and in every district. First, a form letter appears in every staff mailbox. It begins Dear Colleagues, and is signed by the superintendent. The letter starts with a statement of praise and gratitude for a job well done. Then it informs you that the district has just discovered a budget “shortfall” of X million dollars, that, well, can’t really be explained right now. But, (the letter goes on), this is a Crisis that we share and we all have to turn off lights and use both sides of the paper. And, although the Administration will do all it can to keep all you wonderful employees employed,

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