The mayor of Providence, the capital of the US state of Rhode Island, is facing criticism after he fired all of the city's nearly 2,000 school teachers in an effort to tackle a $100m deficit.

Not all will ultimately go, but sending dismissal notices to everyone means the city can fire teachers at the end of the school year without regard to seniority.

Angel Taveras, who only took office in January, defended the move by saying it was a necessary "protective measure" to help tackle the shortfall.

Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler reports from Providence.