MBUSD school board approves layoffs
The Board of Education for the Manhattan Beach Unified School District last week approved $3.6 million in budget reductions that will result in the layoff of approximately 38 employees. The cuts mean that during the next school year classes will be larger, there will be fewer hands-on science classes, fewer music and art classes, and less help for students struggling with reading, science and social and emotional issues. Board members deliberated for more than three hours in a boardroom packed with parents and teachers, including some of the educators likely to lose their jobs. The cuts approved in a 4-1 vote reduced many of the district’s most prized educational programs, including elementary music and arts, MakerSpace, and student counseling. Superintendent Mike Matthews said the district staved off cuts for as long as possible. The district has a structural budget deficit largely caused by increasing pension costs and the failure of the federal government to provide special education funding. “This is why we are here,” he said. “And this is nothing new. We’ve had this for a good five or six years. It’s been dwindling down our reserves from 30 percent to the minimum reserves we…
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