When do we start paying attention?

Here's a troubling exchange from tonight's City Council meeting (with humble thanks, as always to Daily Worcesteria). Councilor Rosen here is question City Manager O'Brien about his planned early retirements:

Rosen: Why weren’t teachers included in early retirement?

O’Brien: A lot of stimulus money is going to education, and “there wasn’t a lot of interest” from the school department.

Is there an assumption here that the fed is going to save everything? Between this and the lack of planning for next year's budget, the school department is starting to look much behind the eight ball.