CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland school board went budget cutting on a grand scale Tuesday, approving layoffs for about 10 percent of its 8,000 employees.

True to forecasts, the board voted to lay off 545 teachers and 117 support staff, effective in June. To that were added more than 100 principals and assistant principals.

Six of the eight board members present voted to approve separate resolutions to lay off teachers, support personnel and administrators. The board made its decision after meeting privately for more than an hour. During that time, teachers stood and loudly sang "We Shall Not be Moved" and other songs.

The seniority-based layoffs would knock out scores of newer teachers, who were handpicked for 10 district innovation schools created in recent years.

Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders said the single-gender and other specialty schools could lose half of their staffs. A science, technology, engineering and math high school, Design Lab Early College, would lose all of its teachers.

Those specialty schools are where the district has seen the kind of academic success it hopes to replicate through a sweeping "transformation plan" to be implemented next school year.

"My reaction is that of absolute dismay at both the layoff news generally, but in particular at the devastation that will cause at schools that are working," said Ann Mullin, who oversees education programs for the George Gund Foundation. The Gund and Cleveland foundations have invested millions in the specialty schools.

Mullin encouraged Cleveland residents to call legislators and complain about a state law that requires the newest teachers to be laid off first.

"There's something wrong when a state law forces removal of teachers without regard to their effectiveness in the classroom," she said.

The job loss district-wide could grow if the ax sweeps through smaller unions and the central office. The job cuts, along with 16 building closings, will help avoid a $53 million deficit predicted for next school year.

As hundreds of teachers watched grimly Tuesday night from the board auditorium and two overflow areas, Sanders pointed out that districts across the country are struggling financially -- closing buildings and paring staff to stay afloat amid the economic downturn and declining enrollment.

A report released this month by the American Association of School Administrators, based on a survey of 453 administrators in 45 states, found that 68 percent of them cut jobs in 2009-2010. Ninety percent expect to cut staff, many of them teachers, in 2010-2011.

Sanders acknowledged that the Cleveland cuts could push the size of some classes to more than 40 students. Special education, which suffers from a shortage of teachers, and kindergarten through third grade, where the district and union have agreed on a cap of 20 children per class, would be spared.

The CEO said the teachers could blunt losses or avoid them altogether by considering solutions such as pay cuts and changes in health care coverage.

A 4.6 percent pay cut, the same as what the district's nonunion employees are taking, would save $17 million a year, Sanders said. That would nearly cover the gap remaining after the school closings, nonunion furlough days and use of $15 million in federal stimulus money are factored in.

"This is a fixable problem. We continue to explore options that will allow us to reverse the difficult course of action we are forced to take this evening," Sanders said Tuesday night.

Normal attrition, averaging about 150 teachers a year, could reduce the number of layoffs.

Sanders said he will consider a union-proposed "separation plan" that teachers say would save the district nearly $20 million a year. Terms have not been disclosed.

Teachers union President David Quolke urged the board to take more time and consider alternatives to layoffs. He said the administration and board had created the crisis by waiting to address a problem that they have been aware of for nearly a year.

"When you vote tonight, you can continue to rubberstamp for the policies of this administration or you can vote with a clear understanding that your vote will impact hundreds of Cleveland classrooms and thousands of Cleveland's children," Quolke said.

Teachers stood and cheered as Quolke spoke.

Harriet Applegate, executive secretary of the North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor, also accused the district of being hasty.

"Why would you lay off teachers without exploring every possible option?" she said. "This is unbelievable."

The teachers' contract allows the district to lay them off with 30 working days' notice. Serving notice now would allow the layoffs to take effect at the end of the school year.

Word of the layoffs come as children in the district are taking state achievement tests. Sanders called on teachers to put aside distractions and carry on with the exams.

The principals and assistant principals on the layoff list preside over chronically low-performing schools. Sanders said they can apply for other administrative positions with the district.

Lee Anne Chambers, a teacher at Denison Elementary School, was among more than 1,000 teachers laid off in 2004. With 10 years of experience, she found out Tuesday night that she would be out of work again.

But Chambers was also worried Tuesday about her principal, Leslie Rotatori-Tranter, and assistant principal, Alvin Nix, who also are on the layoff list.

"You don't have a more dynamic duo," she said. "They can read each other's minds. I couldn't ask for more support as a teacher."

A new school board policy spells out the reasons the district can cite in suspending administrators' contracts.

The policy also sets criteria for restoring contracts. It includes seniority but also lists success of students and potentially subjective standards of "leadership, integrity, professionalism and judgment."

The Cleveland Council of Administration and Supervisors accused the district of reneging on a promise to cut by seniority. It sent a letter to schools lawyer Stephen DeVita before the policy was approved, calling the measure vague and saying it opened the door for favoritism.

"Simply put, the rules have changed, in what appears to be a way to benefit our CEO in his efforts to maintain the staff he has recruited during his tenure," the letter said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: tott@plaind.com, 216-999-5739