PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. -- The tough economic times are hitting schools hard.

The Bethel School District just announced 220 layoffs of teachers and staff members due to state budget cuts.

And at the Kent School District, the 5th-grade instrumental music program has been cut without so much as a sad violin song marking its departure. The school board voted to cut the program and to warn 129 teachers they could be given the pink slip as a result of state cuts.

"It's the biggest cut we've had to make in years, and we'll just have to find ways to make it work," said Becky Hanks of the Kent School District.

The Washington Education Association, the state teachers' union, believes some 6,000 teachers will be laid off statewide with first- and second-year teachers being the first to go.

"At this point, we really don't know where and how many. And so everybody, especially the younger teachers are, I'm sure, devastated and are walking on eggshells," said WEA vice president Michael Ragan.

In the Auburn School District, superintendent Kip Herren says he plans to do everything he can to minimize teacher cuts. He knows times are hard for everybody.

"One teacher's husband just got riffed, another teacher is pregnant, another teacher's husband just became deceased this year," he said.

Herren says he's looking at other areas in which he can make cuts.

"So our second phase of our reductions is going into the areas that are not directly tied into the classroom, and making reductions so that we can recall those 44.7 positions. Because class size is important," he said.

But according to the numbers, schools won't be able to avoid layoffs altogether; there are going to be teachers out of work and programs out of existence.

The Vancouver School District expects to cut 218 positions while Olympia says it will cut 38.

The Seattle School District must chop $25 million from all its school. Highline and Lake Washington must each cut $8 million. Everett will lose $7 million and Puyallup nearly double that -- as much as $15 millions.

Districts must notify teachers and staff members of layoffs by May 15.