At 65, Sharon Gerstacker had put away money for retirement, but after her daughter was diagnosed with ovarian cancer two years ago, her savings dwindled.

Gerstacker didn't worry much. She had a job she loved teaching German and English at Waltrip High School.

That changed in April. The single mother learned she was among 700 teachers in the Houston Independent School District losing their jobs next year as part of severe budget cuts statewide.

With two weeks before summer vacation, Gerstacker and countless other laid-off teachers try to remain hopeful they'll be rehired at other schools. But it won't be easy, given HISD's unusual level of campus autonomy in hiring decisions and varying demand for teachers in certain subjects.

In a move troubling the teachers' union, HISD has posted more than 200 job openings for teachers — despite the layoffs.

"There's hardships for a lot of people, especially for the younger teachers who started a family and bought a house and now don't have a job," said Gerstacker, who has interviewed for positions teaching English at two other HISD campuses.

HISD, unlike most districts, gives principals the power to decide which employees to fire and which to hire. That means, in most cases, a teacher like Gerstacker who was ousted from one school isn't guaranteed a job at another, even if the subject area is the same.

"Principals are the hiring managers and decision makers around staffing for their campuses," said Ann Best, HISD's chief of human resources.

The only teachers with definite job security are those hired more than 20 years ago on a so-called continuing contract, which is equivalent to tenure. If those teachers were laid off, they were allowed to "bump" a less experienced educator out of the same job at a different school.

Federation protests

Gayle Fallon, the president of the Houston Federation of Teachers union, questions whether HISD followed its own layoff policy. She believes the district is required to place all laid-off teachers at other schools before hiring externally for the same jobs. She has requested hearings with a state officer for about 80 employees to prove her case.

"God help them (HISD) if they hire a first-year anything and put (him or her) in one of those positions when they have someone they let go," Fallon said.

HISD officials say they have given the ousted teachers the chance to vie for any openings. But now they are opening the jobs to outsiders.

In some cases, Best said, the laid-off HISD teachers don't have the proper credentials for open jobs.

Yolanda Matthews, a cosmetology teacher at Booker T. Washington High School who got a pink slip, is among those in a serious bind. Other campuses aren't searching for cosmetology teachers.

"This has been a slap in the face," said Matthews, 40, who started working in HISD this school year. "When I got this job, I was just coming off unemployment. It's been very hard catching up."

Matthews, a single mom with a 2-year-old son, joined about 20 laid-off HISD teachers at a district-sponsored job-hunting seminar two weeks ago. Teachers could attend various sessions, on writing resumes, using the social media website Twitter and interview techniques.

Recruiter's view

"I know situations like this can make people cynical," Carmen Rowan, HISD's senior recruitment manager, told the displaced employees. "This is my plea to you guys - to be an active participant in this process."

Gerstacker said she would consider looking at private schools but doesn't want to return to her first career, in sales. She has a passion for getting students interested in reading, especially teaching them how the classics apply to modern times.

"My whole house is covered in books," Gerstacker said. "Now, I guess I can't buy them anymore. I'll have to go to the library."

ericka.mellon@chron.com