4:15pm | After seven days of hearings, a judge ruled today in favor of the Long Beach Unified School District and denied the Teachers Association of Long Beach’s assertion that the district did not follow rules while laying off employees.
The local Board of Education is going through its final list of layoffs on July 12.
The judge agreed that the district was within its rights to determine layoffs through its seniority system, its exemption of teachers with training in college readiness programs from the seniority system, and the overall accuracy of its seniority list.
“We are grateful that the judge affirmed the action of the board,” said LBUSD Superintendent Christopher J. Steinhauser. “We take no pleasure in this process, which has been complex and difficult for both LBUSD and TALB. This decision should not be read as a rebuke of TALB or our employees in any way. But we appreciate that the judge, during these unprecedented times, acknowledged the lengths to which our staff went in recognizing the rights of our valued employees while protecting programs vital to student success. We will continue to leave no stone unturned in our search for funding to help restore jobs and protect our schools.”
The district has been marred by teacher layoffs this year after its state funding was severely cut due to California budget concerns.
More to come…
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