JERSEY CITY — More than 200 non-tenured public school teachers received layoff notices from the district this week, board members said Wednesday.

Officials estimate that roughly 272 non-tenured teachers in Jersey City’s school district received notification that they would lose their jobs at the end of the school year. Legally, the teachers are required to receive the non-renewal notices prior to May 15 if their jobs within the district are threatened.

The layoff notices come at a dire time for the 30,000-student school district — and these are likely the first of additional layoffs expected.

Facing a $120 million budget shortfall, the district in its proposed budget earmarked 450 instructional staff positions, including teachers and teacher’s aides, and 260 central administration and non-instructional staff positions for elimination throughout the district.

But officials stressed that they’re still waiting to determine how many teacher positions will be eliminated. That number will depend on how much revenue the city collects from its payroll tax — which went into effect after state legislators passed a law last year allowing Jersey City to enact a 1 percent payroll tax on local businesses.

“Currently in our budget the payroll tax is still not factored in,” said school board Trustee Mussab Ali. “We haven’t gotten those numbers and without those numbers there’s nothing we can do in terms of staffing.

“But once we got those figures and once that revenue comes in — and hopefully it does — we can move those numbers around,” he said, adding he was speaking as an individual and not on behalf of the Board of Education.

It is unclear when the district will receive those figures. For now, "We can't allocate for money that we don't have," Ali said.

Meanwhile, the Concerned Parents Association at School 16 said the school stands to lose approximately 25% of its teaching staff due to the cuts.

“This includes non-tenured classroom teachers and specialists, as well as further program cuts, like Enrichment, Reading Recovery, Music Program and more,” an email from the CPA reads.

“My son’s teacher — who is a phenomenal teacher — she got notice that she will not have a job anymore at PS 16,” said Norbert Sygdziak, a resident of Jersey City for seven years who’s 6-year-old is in the first grade at the elementary school. “It’s extremely unfortunate that this is happening.”

The district last week filed a lawsuit against the state, alleging the hundreds of millions planned in state funding cuts over the next six years are unconstitutional and have harmed the district’s students.

“It’s surprising and scary at the same time,” Sygdziak said of the funding cuts. “Especially when Jersey City gives out such huge tax abatements, and the property tax people pay skyrockets from year to year, there’s still no moneys for schools. It’s outrageous and I don’t know where Jersey City as a whole is going with this.”

This story has been updated to clarify that the number of teachers who received non-renewal notices was 272, not 215.

Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @cwmcdonald_. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.