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On the surface, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's budget plan sounded like a big win for principals and teachers. The mayor said those mid-year school budget cuts principals were told they would have to make may not be necessary after all. But then came the kicker.

The cost-savings proposed by Bloomberg will now come from the principals and teachers, who would get much smaller raises than expected over the next two years. If they don't agree, he said school budgets will be cut and jobs may be eliminated.

"The savings produced by these modest pay increases will prevent what would have otherwise been a reduction of 2,500 teaching positions between reductions and layoffs," said the mayor.

Principals and teachers now have a choice -- more money for the schools or more money for themselves, but at the risk of layoffs.

The mayor proposes cutting their raises in half, from the average four percent they've gotten during the Bloomberg years to just two percent in each of the next two years. Even then, the mayor cautioned an additional 8,500 teachers could still be let go if Governor David Paterson's budget cuts are adopted.

Officials from both the teachers and principals unions called the mayor's demands unacceptable and inappropriate.

"We are shocked that we have not been given any prior notice of this major strategic move on our mayor's part. The fact that he has publicly began contract negotiations in such a way is very disturbing to us," said Principals Union representative Pete McNally.

"It's unacceptable, but at the same time I am not going to negotiate in public, I have been very clear about that," said United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew.

Teachers wages have gone up 43 percent during the past eight years, but they say those raises are necessary since salaries started out low, and the cost of living continues to go up -- as does the Department of Education's demands.

"The teachers right now are not being paid for what they do. They are supposed to be working x-number of hours, but they work double that and never get paid for it," said one city teacher.

The mid-year budget cuts to schools would save $113 million, but the smaller raises would save even more at $148 million. The mayor said those savings would avoid layoffs and protect students from absorbing the impact of the budget climate.

Some teachers NY1 spoke with on Thursday said they’re already overworked and underpaid and that the proposal will ultimately hurt their students.