Manhattan Beach Public Schools: Staff Cuts, Hybrid Learning
MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Parents of school-aged kids in Manhattan Beach may be feeling a bit more hopeful these days as COVID-19 data continues to show a decrease of the disease in Los Angeles County. That continuing decline puts elementary-school aged kids and their parents closer to participating in a hybrid learning model of in-person and distance learning rather than distance-only learning.
"It does appear that the county numbers are trending in the right direction and LACDPH may entertain waiver applications sooner than we expected," said Jennifer Cochran, president of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Trustees. "We have an item on this Wednesday's board meeting to discuss the waiver application process. There is a long checklist of things that have to be in place on school campuses, and schools will be required to collaborate with their employee groups and the community on the waiver application process. Remember that the waiver is only for elementary schools. Secondary schools will not be allowed to return in an in-person format until the county is off the state watch list." That said, MBUSD starts its new academic year tomorrow in distance-learning mode.
"When we get closer to entertaining a hybrid model, we will have to survey parents and staff about how comfortable they are returning to school," Cochran told Manhattan Beach Patch. "We did not require our families to make the commitment to stay with distance learning for the semester or the year up front as other districts have. We will have to make those adjustments as we go."
The school district, like many others, has been juggling funding and staffing throughout the pandemic. Governor Gavin Newsom's January budget for public schools included "a steady increase in funding," with money earmarked for "long-term efforts to expand early childhood programs and other targeted efforts, including grants to incentivize educators to teach in low-income schools," according to CalMatters.org.
"In a 180-degree turn," writes CalMatters, "after the coronavirus pandemic shelved much of those plans and drastically shifted priorities, Newsom’s revised May proposal included cuts to education so steep that school officials across the state warned they wouldn’t be able to responsibly re-open campuses in the fall if passed.
"The state budget gives schools a short-term financial breather and enacts sweeping requirements for how schools will operate this fall. But it also heightens the stakes for potentially bigger, steeper cuts to schools in the long run."
Indeed, the California state budget for public schools has kept many public school districts on their toes and consistently making readjustments. Add in the pandemic and the massive shifting schools have had to do to suddenly switch to online distance learning last March and school boards have had their hands full.
Said Cochran of ongoing budget shifts, "MBUSD did issue layoff notices to employees in July when we were uncertain about what programs we would be able to offer in-person in the fall. Many of those are preschool and EDP teachers, and we are hoping to bring employees back depending on which programs we get clearance from the state to offer. Again, this item is on our Wednesday agenda." The meeting begins at 5 p.m. and is held online via Zoom and YouTube.
This article originally appeared on the Manhattan Beach Patch
