LB School Board and City Council Meeting Now

Long Beach Unified School District’s board of education meeting begins at 5 p.m. at headquarters and will cover agenda items including more than $8 million in additional proposed budget cuts, largely to the central office, and reduction in the community service requirement currently required for graduation.

Today's agenda.

At last month’s board meeting, the funding for the community service program, which is not mandated by the state but which LBUSD began in 2007,  was cut, said district spokesman Chris Eftychiou. The school board’s meetings have been particularly grim with tens of millions being slashed in anticipation of continuing and massive state funding cuts. Last year, the board ultimately laid off 500 employees. It is currently Long Beach’s largest employer at about 8,000 and is facing this week layoff notices to 20 percent to 25 percent of its workforce, perhaps 1,000 teachers alone.

The Long Beach City Council will be meeting at 5 p.m. today for their regular thrice-monthly meeting. Among the agenda items are a discussion of whether to install video cameras on street sweepers (the California legislature passed a law, AB2567, allowing this in 2010).

Other items, two of which are in the 3rd District that encompasses the Belmont Shore and surrounds, include:  

• Voting to award a contract for the Appian Way bridge repainting for $630,000 to Techno Coatings Inc.
• Voting whether to add $135,000 to pay for eelgrass habitat protection in the marina. 
• Voting whether to apply for a government grant for funding to plant more drought-resistant trees citywide.