Class Sizes Will Grow in Bid to Cut Spending : Education: School district officials also vote to reduce employee benefits as part of an $8.8-million budget trim for 1994. It is the fourth straight year of reductions.

Long Beach school officials voted this week to increase class size, reduce employee benefits and use administrators as part-time substitute teachers to cut $8.8 million from next year’s budget.

The reductions, about 3% of an estimated $300-million budget, mark the fourth straight year of budget slashing for Long Beach Unified. Parents, administrators and board members said they are weary of the annual ritual.

“All the cuts are regrettable and horrible,” Supt. Carl Cohn said after Monday’s meeting. “None of this is pleasant.”

Officials predicted, however, that no layoffs would result from the cuts.

Nearly a dozen speakers echoed Cohn’s sentiments as they addressed the school board in tones of anger and

despair before a packed house of 300. Anticipating the large turnout, officials moved the meeting from the board room in the district office to the larger Reid High School Auditorium.

“The children deserve better, and the staff and teachers deserve better,” said Anthony V. Myer, a third-grade teacher at Edison Elementary. Myer said teachers were being asked to bear too many cuts either in the classroom or from their paychecks. “I’ve seen (teachers) kicked like a loyal dog.”

Officials insisted they tried to keep the cuts as painless as possible.

“In the last four years, only one or two people have actually gone out on the street without a job, and that included no teachers,” Deputy Supt. Tomio Nishimura said. “There are very few school districts that can say that.”

One of the larger cuts, about $720,000, will be achieved by increasing middle school classes to an average of 31 students, one more than last year. Because that number is an average, some classes are likely to be larger. Increasing class size allows the district to save money by employing fewer teachers. The teaching staff would be reduced by attrition rather than layoffs.

Students could feel the budget cuts when they try to use the library next year. On some days school libraries may be closed because the district has decided not to provide substitutes for librarians who are absent short term.

The same policy will apply to school nurses. Nursing and library staffs already have been reduced through attrition.

The new substitute policy is expected to save $500,000.

The district will continue to provide substitutes for classes, although some of them will be administrators. Having administrators, including Supt. Cohn, work as substitutes five days a year will save an estimated $65,000.

Students will lose some electives because all classes must have at least 25 students. If advanced French attracts only 20 students, for example, the school must cancel the class or combine it with a lower level.

Some approved cuts could hit snags. The district reduced the budget for educating disabled children by $1 million, but failed to specify where the budget ax would fall. Those decisions will be made later by program administrators.

The same applies to a 25% cut, about $250,000, at Reid High School. Reid serves students who do not want to attend a traditional high school or have had problems at other schools. Reid’s administrators must decide what to cut.

In addition, the school board voted to save $250,000 by moving the district office to a less expensive location. But officials said they have no definite plans for making the move.

The school board tabled a proposal to impose a three-day unpaid furlough on all managers earning more than $50,000 a year. The board also postponed a proposal to eliminate free transportation for athletes to sports events. Both items will be considered in the future, board members said.

Student board member Katy Powers spoke against cutting athletic program transportation.

“Sports are a big part of kids’ lives at school,” she said. “It’s part of the reason many kids even come to school.”

Parent Stephanie Nelson said after the meeting that she was unhappy about the cuts, but that board members have “done the best job they can to keep the cuts away from the kids.”

Nelson was a member of a community advisory committee that recommended budget reductions. Employee groups also formed a committee to offer recommendations.

Union leaders have complained that their money-saving suggestions from employees were not given proper consideration.

Most audience members Monday appeared to be employees, many of whom were upset over the proposed reductions in health benefits.

A number of the 23 approved money-saving measures affect benefits for the district’s 7,000 employees. The district hopes to save $3.62 million by reducing benefits.

Because benefits are part of union contracts, however, any reductions must be negotiated. If the unions balk, the district will have to find other ways to save money, such as further increasing class sizes.

The district has proposed raising the annual amount employees pay for health care before their insurance covers expenses. The deductible is currently $50, and the district wants to raise it to $150.

In addition, the district proposes increasing the amount employees must pay for their first $5,000 of insured medical care from $400 to $1,000.

Jim Deaton, president of the teachers union, said after the meeting that teachers have already surrendered pay raises and should not be asked to sacrifice more.