Employees at schools being shut down or shaken up at the end of this year are being let go today, according to Chicago Public School officials. 

More than 800 employees are affected, but there could be many more. The numbers released by CPS today do not include administrators and do not count layoffs in other district schools that are also facing shrinking budgets. 

“We do think this is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Jackson Potter, staff coordinator for the Chicago Teachers Union.

Reports from parents, teachers and principals across the city indicate that people at closing schools are not the only ones who stand to lose their jobs. Potter said, ironically, many of the positions added last year for the longer school day are being cut. 

“We’re seeing all of the additional staff from music, world language, art, are being cut, librarians being removed and eliminated from a variety of schools across the district,” Potter said. “It’s really hard to say how damaging and disruptive these austerity budgets are going to be but it’s drastic.”

However, teachers at closing schools with superior or excellent performance ratings are eligible to apply for jobs at receiving schools if there are openings. But CPS officials said they won’t know how many vacancies there will be until mid-July.

CPS officials said, on average, about 60 percent of teachers who lose their positions at one school, but reapply at others get rehired somewhere else in the system.

Becky Vevea is a WBEZ education reporter. Follow her @WBEZeducation.