39 PE Teachers Face Layoffs at Junior Colleges

The Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees is expected to decide to distribute layoff notices to 142 full-time faculty members at its regular board meeting today at 1:30 p.m.

Thirty-nine of the notices would be sent to physical education instructors, said board President Monroe Richman.

The layoffs would save the district about $6 million in the 1986-87 fiscal year, Richman said. The distribution of layoff notices does not necessarily mean full-time faculty will be dismissed, however. The district, which must issue formal notification by March 15 to lay off full-time employees, has until May to decide the fate of its employees.

Richman expects the layoffs to go through.

“There will be layoffs,” he said. “We did not come to our decision arbitrarily. I think it has been identified that we are over-staffed in several disciplines, including physical education.”

Instructors in 30 disciplines would be affected if the layoffs are approved.

Notices would be served to about 7.5% of the district’s full-time faculty. Almost 28% of the cuts would come in physical education.

The layoffs could also mean the end for part-time coaches in the district.

According to the California Education Code, in the event of layoffs to full-time faculty, no part-time personnel may be hired in the same discipline for three years, according to district spokesman Norm Schneider.

If even one full-time faculty member within physical education is dismissed, no part-time coaches could be hired throughout the district.

At the three Valley-area community colleges--Pierce, Valley and Mission--20 of 36 sports are coached by part-time employees this year, according to athletic directors at the schools.

“We would be devastated if the layoffs go through,” said Bob O’Connor, athletic director at Pierce, where 13 of 18 sports are coached by part-time employees.

At Mission College, four of five sports are coached by part-time employees. In addition, Mission has been asked to reduce its athletic budget by 25%, about $1.3 million, according to Athletic Director Phil Lozano. The tentative budget at Mission in fiscal 1986-87 calls for funding two sports.

Valley College would fare the best of the three, as only three of 13 sports are coached by part-time employees.

The loss of part-time coaches would be in addition to the full-time faculty affected by layoffs. Even more coaches, therefore, could be eliminated by the district’s proposed action.

Layoffs would be determined by seniority, according to Schneider.

The teacher’s union for the L. A. district is planning to stage a protest at the district board meeting. One athletic director was skeptical the demonstration’s possible impact.

“I don’t know what can stop it,” said Valley Athletic Director George Goff. “We’ve been down there several times before--for athletic trainers and part-time coaches--and when it was over, the board still voted the same way.”

If Gov. George Deukmejian’s proposed budget for community colleges is passed by the state Legislature in the spring, Richman said, the L. A. district faces a $4- to $8-million budget deficit for the coming year.

“I don’t think the issue is strictly budgetary,” Richman said. “The board is taking a change in educational direction.”