10:50am | The Long Beach Unified School District has reached a tentative agreement with the California School Employees Association (Long Beach, Chapter 2) that will guarantee job protection this year and next year, and also include some job restoration in exchange for acceptance of five furlough days this year and up to seven furlough days next year. In May, the district announced that five furlough days would be instituted this school year.

The CSEA represents school employees such as maintenance workers, bus and truck drivers, school support staff and more. Basically, all non-teacher positions.

“I deeply appreciate the willingness of CSEA’s leadership to consider some reasonable compromises during these lean times for public schools,” said LBUSD Superintendent Christopher J. Steinhauser, in a press release. 

“I also commend our classified employees, who have waited patiently for bargaining to conclude. The result is a tentative contract that maintains competitive salaries and benefits while helping us to cope with severe budget cuts.”

The school district laid off more than 350 teachers over the summer in response to massive budget cuts from the state of California (eventually rehiring about 200). Over the next two years, the LBUSD is facing a shortfall of over $50 million.

Under the agreement, the district will restore about 36-percent of CSEA members (specifically clerical employees and construction workers) on reemployment lists who have been laid off since this past April. Also, the LBUSD will not layoff CSEA members for the next two years (negotiations may be reopened if the state reduces funding by $50 or more per pupil). The district will contribute 5-percent toward healthcare costs for employees beginning January 1, 2012.

The deal will become final once ratified by the union’s membership and approved by the LBUSD Board of Education in the next few weeks.

The tentative agreement is available to the public (click here to download).