(KTLA-TV) |
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KTLA) -- The Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education voted Tuesday to approve a fresh round of budget cuts that will result in layoffs for more than 300 district employees.
The board says the cuts are necessary because the district is facing a $19 million reduction in state funding in the next school year.
That figure is counting on voter approval of a ballot measure that would help fund education statewide.
If that measure fails at the polls in November, Long Beach Unified could be facing a budget shortfall of more than $30 million.
"We've lost more than $300 million in the past four years, " said Chris Eftychiou, spokesman for the Long Beach Unified. "We've had to let go more than 1,000 employees. So it's really a dire situation."
Representatives from the Teachers Association of Long Beach -- the labor union representing the city's educators -- also attended Tuesday's meeting.
They protested the layoffs, saying their ranks have been slashed to the bone already in budget-cutting measures made in previous years.
"We're already struggling with the cutbacks from the last four years," said TALB Executive Director Joe Boyd. "We really can't lose any more."
Many of the employees affected by the looming layoffs would be teachers, about one-third of the them coming from the district's "head start" program for preschoolers.
"We've gotten to where we can't make these large cuts without impacting the classroom," Eftychiou said.
The board says the cuts are necessary because the district is facing a $19 million reduction in state funding in the next school year.
That figure is counting on voter approval of a ballot measure that would help fund education statewide.
If that measure fails at the polls in November, Long Beach Unified could be facing a budget shortfall of more than $30 million.
"We've lost more than $300 million in the past four years, " said Chris Eftychiou, spokesman for the Long Beach Unified. "We've had to let go more than 1,000 employees. So it's really a dire situation."
Representatives from the Teachers Association of Long Beach -- the labor union representing the city's educators -- also attended Tuesday's meeting.
They protested the layoffs, saying their ranks have been slashed to the bone already in budget-cutting measures made in previous years.
"We're already struggling with the cutbacks from the last four years," said TALB Executive Director Joe Boyd. "We really can't lose any more."
Many of the employees affected by the looming layoffs would be teachers, about one-third of the them coming from the district's "head start" program for preschoolers.
"We've gotten to where we can't make these large cuts without impacting the classroom," Eftychiou said.
