CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES

Nearly 16,000 city school district employees -- including thousands of teachers -- may be told next month that they are in danger of losing their jobs because of budget problems, officials said Thursday.

The potential cuts include 10,000 teachers, nurses and other certificated employees and 6,000 administrators. The Los Angeles Unified School District is facing a nearly $900-million budget shortfall over the next 18 months because of the state’s fiscal crisis. Teachers must be notified by March 15 if they could get laid off, and final notifications would be issued late in the summer.

Layoffs would primarily affect younger, less experienced instructors. L.A. Unified officials have also targeted costs at headquarters and local district offices.

The school board must vote to approve any layoff notices on March 10.

-- Jason Song