Facing layoffs and a 38% drop within their work hours, Long Beach City College (LBCC) Classified Staff are taking their case to the LBCC Board of Trustees at 5:00pm tomorrow while the following week will inaugurate a “Funeral for the Death of Education.”
The latter event is scheduled for May 1 at noon, where students, faculty, staff, and other members of the LBCC community will parody a funeral for education, complete with eulogies, a procession with a casket, and other common symbols associated with burial. Organizer Patrick McKean stated the event will be held on the front lawn of the campus along Carson Street between Buildings A and B just west of Clark Avenue.
Meanwhile, on a more direct level that has severe consequences for staff members at LBBC, the Board will propose 55 layoffs (47 of which are classified staff) tomorrow as well as reduce the contracts of 96 various positions; this will be the third consecutive year such reductions and layoffs have been made. This decision was announced back in March, where LBCC President Eloy Oakley stated that the decision was an effort to cut $5.1 million from its budget following an unanticipated $3.5 million mid-year cut.
Union board member Anne Engel stated, ““We understand that the state, the college and country, are going through an unprecedented budget crisis… [But] other campuses around us have been able to manage their finances effectively.”
The Board meeting will take place tomorrow at 5:00pm Liberal Arts Campus, Building T, room 1100.