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Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has been an outspoken critic of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to lay off 6,000 teachers this year. His office put out a report today looking at the last time the city laid-off teachers in 1976 and 1977. He says history suggests the negative effects of large-scale teacher layoffs can last many years.

"It took a decade to even begin to recover for those cut," said De Blasio. "Class sizes shot up and it stayed high. The student teacher ratio was affected literally for a decade or more. So the point today is that these cuts are not just going to hurt us next year, they are going to hurt us in the long-term."

Both the mayor and Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott have acknowledged that class size will rise if their plan to reduce the teaching force goes through. But the Public Advocate says those larger classes could become the new-normal. He also argues that if the city is able to find money to rehire some of the teachers, many will not come back.

The report says in the 1970s, the city tried to recall 9,000 of the 15,000 who had been laid off. Less than a third actually came back.

"The debate in the city so far has been about what's going to happen next year and what the effect would be next year and we're trying to say, there is a bigger picture here. It's tough for people to think about," said De Blasio. "We've seen some improvement in our schools and we all know that our schools have to get better for the sake of the city. I think what this report indicates is, this could be a major step in the wrong direction."

The mayor has acknowledged that laying off teachers will hurt, but says the state cuts are too deep to avoid this year.

City Council members and union leaders say they are still working to find an alternative solution.

The city's budget is due a week from today.