Testifying before the City Council Monday, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said he will allow school principals to lay off parent coordinators and abolish the position as a way to combat the city’s money woes.

In 2003, Mayor Michael Bloomberg started mandating schools have them, as one of his first education reforms. His administration has defended the position as integral in parent engagement and outreach efforts.

Klein says with thousands of teacher cuts on the horizon, the Department of Education is exploring all ways to reduce costs.

"We don't want to layoff teachers and we are taking steps to try to minimize these staff cuts as much as possible," said Klein. "We're hoping Albany will come through. We're hoping Washington will come through."

There are currently more than 1,400 parent coordinators across the city, but the move would only affect the few hundred who work in high schools. Their average salary is $41,000, and the department estimates it'll save $20 million through the layoffs.

A spokesperson says the Department of Education feels high school parents may have less of a need of the services provided by parent coordinators.

In the past, principals have complained that when being forced to cut budgets, eliminating the position was non-negotiable.

But the schools chancellor said the budget situation is dire, and principals will have to make tough decisions when they get their budgets early next week.

"We've advised principals in a recent webcast that I did to brace for a substantially larger cut than the 4.9 percent they saw during the current year,” he said. “The kind of cut we're talking about, especially coming after previous reductions, will obviously be painful."

Klein's move is the latest step as the Department of Education addresses its $750 million budget shortfall.