Community College Teachers Rehired by District

Physical education instructors laid off in June by the Los Angeles Community College District were rehired in time for for the opening of classes Tuesday, according to Virginia Mulrooney, vice chancellor of personnel services for the district.

Five physical education teachers and 33 instructors in other departments got their jobs back because the district miscalculated its teaching needs under a new agreement reached with the faculty union in June, Mulrooney said.

They were laid off June 30 as part of what then-board President Dr. Monroe Richman called “an overdue change in educational direction.” The move was designed to re-distribute teachers to growing departments--such as English as a second language, business and mathematics--and away from overmanned areas, including physical education.

The agreement with the union, originally designed to lure full-time teachers into coaching, reduced the midseason teaching assignments of instructors who coached teams. In addition, the instructors received time off during the off-season for recruiting and conditioning.

“We had not anticipated the release time in the off-season for coaches,” Mulrooney said. Release time is the district’s term for a reduced teaching load. “That made them unavailable for some classes, and we had to fill those positions.”

The oversight created openings for six physical education instructors who were layoff victims. Five accepted positions Thursday as long-term substitute teachers. Three of the five coached teams during the 1985-86 season. The sixth instructor, Diane Defranco-Browne, formerly of Trade Tech, had earlier accepted a teaching position at Long Beach City College and will not return to the Los Angeles district.