Council Protests Planned Job Center Cuts

Los Angeles City Council members Friday protested planned cutbacks at six job training centers, including one in Pacoima, that serve low-income people.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has ordered a 40% cut in classroom instruction and a 75% cut in career counseling and job placement assistance effective Dec. 30 at the Pacoima Skills Center, Principal Maureen Jensen said.

Jim Figueroa, the school district’s assistant superintendent for adult and occupational education, said the cuts will be closer to 12% overall.

But he added: “We can’t continue every year to operate on this level of reimbursement from the state.” District officials contend that the state, on which the school district relies to fund the skills center, has not increased funding to keep up with the increased cost of the programs.

“Our objective is to offer the same courses, but we may have to run a reduced level of service,” he said.

Cuts at 5 Other Centers

Cuts have been ordered at the district’s five other skills centers in central and East Los Angeles, San Pedro, Venice and Watts.

The Pacoima center, 13323 Louvre St., offers training for business, health and industrial occupations such as emergency medical technicians, cable television installers and computer operators. The center, which served about 2,000 students last year, has about a $1.8-million annual budget.

Seven City Council members introduced a resolution urging the Board of Education to restore funding for the centers.

“Such cuts would severely impair the programs at the centers and mean a loss of opportunity and hope for a better future for people in economically disadvantaged communities across the city,” said Councilman Ernani Bernardi, one of the sponsors of the resolution.

Bernardi, who represents Pacoima, said he learned about the cuts when he received about 200 letters from students at the Pacoima center.

“I am a high school dropout,” said one letter written by Sallie Rouse. “I’m 17 years old with a 2-year-old child. . . . This is my chance to get my high school diploma and to also get off welfare.”

“I am 55 years old and have found it to be more than just difficult to get a job,” wrote Clyde Williamson, another student at the Pacoima center. “I am on general relief and attending Pacoima Skills Center to improve my chances of employment. . . . This school has made a difference in my life.”

“Cuts should not be made in the skills centers programs at a time when the need for expansion appears critical, in light of the new and increasing need for amnesty preparation and English language classes and the city’s growing ranks of homeless and welfare-dependent people,” Bernardi said.

The Pacoima center has “proven to be especially valuable as a resource for the Pacoima enterprise zone, providing participating businesses in the northeast Valley with well-trained employees,” he added.

Elena McCuen, administrative assistant to school board President Roberta Weintraub, said the state has not boosted funding to keep pace with the increased cost of the centers. Weintraub represents the east San Fernando Valley,

“The district is getting a lot of criticism for this when Sacramento holds the purse strings,” she said. Weintraub plans to set up a meeting with state lawmakers who represent the Valley in an effort to secure additional funds for the center, McCuen said.

She contended that the cuts at the centers, which she said are “just proposals right now,” amount to 12%. “They’re not making massive cuts.”

But Jensen said she has been told otherwise. She has not decided what programs will be cut. “I’m hoping that I won’t have to do it,” she said.