More money for Valley schools means more teachers being hired

PHOENIX - The gloom and doom of budget cuts for schools and the firing of teachers may not have been as bad as everyone thought.

One teacher who was fired and then rehired says it's just part of the job.

"It made me very nervous for a long time," said English teacher Candice Cassidy.

Thursday at Trevor Browne High School, Cassidy is doing what she loves, teaching her students.

This second year teacher wasn't so sure about her future last year when she was given notice she might not have a job.

Cassidy said she was worried, "not knowing if you should go look for another job, in another district, or out of state. Not knowing how your going to pay your bills."

She was part of major lay offs due to state budget cuts.

"Mostly it was a money issue, if they would have the money to pay my salary and other salaries too," said Cassidy.

Most school districts in the state faced multiple money concerns, including a possible drop in enrollment.

"There were a lot of factors at that time. Proposition 100 obviously hadn't been passed, we at the time were facing severe budget cuts," said Trevor Browne Principal Gabriel Trujillo.

Districts let teachers like Cassidy go, with the chance they could get rehired.

"It's easier to call a teacher back than to issue that contract that you may not be able to pay out," said Trujillo.

Now, with the passing of Proposition 100 and extra federal money, schools found funding and Cassidy got called back.

"It definitely made me appreciate having a job, having a paycheck," said Cassidy.