December 22, 2011 | GRUNION GAZETTE | Page 11A
Education Institutions Braced For Trigger By Stephanie Minasian Staff Writer
After Gov. Jerry Brown pulled a $1 billion midyear “trigger” cut on California’s public education last week, Long Beach’s three levels of education were mostly prepared for the reductions in store for them. The trigger cut was set as a precaution for the state if it did not meet its projected revenue level. While California’s revenue did rise, it was still $2.2 billion below projections — not enough to stave off the mid-level trigger cut, according to Brown. Higher education took the biggest hit, with California State University, Long Beach’s share of the cut estimated at $7.7 million. CSULB officials said they anticipated this midyear slash, and planned the budget around it to avoid any major reductions to services. “For the current fiscal year 2011-12, this repayment to the state will come from limited re-
serves that we have carefully set aside in anticipation of a midyear reduction,” said CSULB President F. King Alexander. “This means that there are no further planned reductions to division operating budgets for the remainder of 2011-12. We had hoped to use these same reserve funds, however, to complete seismic repairs, ADA upgrades and to update classrooms.” Alexander added that he will work to plan for an additional $7.7 million reduction and the likely possibility that CSULB will run short of restoration dollars in the next school year. The trigger also hit California’s community colleges, and Long Beach City College faced a $2 million reduction, according to LBCC spokesman Robert Garcia. LBCC planned ahead for the cut, and will not remove any programs or services from its campus this year, although the 2012-13
State Of LBCC Address Set Jan. 6 The State of the College Address is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 6, in the Long Beach City College Hall of Champions Gymnasium. Superintendent-President Eloy Ortiz Oakley will deliver the ad-
dress. There will be a luncheon before the address. RSVP to 9384123 or by email to rsvpsoc@ lbcc.edu. The Hall of Champions Gymnasium is on Faculty Avenue south of Carson Street. Free parking is at Veterans Stadium.
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school year remains uncertain. “We are disappointed that the state will impose further cuts to Long Beach City College. Fortunately, the college has anticipated these reductions and will be able to absorb them in our budget without any additional cuts in courses or services in the spring semester,” said Eloy Ortiz Oakley, president of LBCC. At the K-12 level, $328 million was taken from schools across the state, with Long Beach Unified School District absorbing $4.2 million of that. “LBUSD could have lost as much as $24 million under the plan,” said LBUSD spokesman Chris Eftychiou. He added that the district is able to absorb the cuts by using its reserves to get through the rest of the year. Out of the $4.2 million, $3.3 million will be taken from transportation funds, but school busing will continue through the end of this year. The school board will need to reexamine transportation expenditures for the coming years.