LB education board may lay off 355 employees

LONG BEACH, Calif. The board may lay off 355 employees. The Teachers Association of /*Long Beach*/ challenged how the district decided which jobs to eliminate, but in the end, a judge ruled against the union.

The agenda for Monday's meeting lists the names of the 555 employees. The district is still working to identify the 200 names on that list whose layoff notices would be rescinded under the labor accord, a district spokesman said.

The district is also pursuing furlough days, layoffs and other budget reductions in an effort to cope with state funding cuts. Last week, the board approved five furlough days for teachers and non-represented employees because of cuts in state funding.

The teacher furloughs are part of a recently approved contract with the teachers association calling for the unpaid days off during the next school year, along with other contract changes designed to save about $12 million and 200 teaching jobs. The LBUSD is still looking to cut $100 million over the next two fiscal years.

In January, the board voted to increase class sizes next school year in kindergarten through third grades from 20 students per teacher to 30 students per teacher to cut operating costs.

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