Eight faculty members want programs, positions reinstated
A handful of teachers filed a lawsuit against Santa Monica College, its board of directors and its president, alleging the school acted illegally when it axed six academic programs and laid off eight full-time teachers for next year.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this month by the eight laid off teachers, demands the school immediately rehire the teachers and reinstate the cut programs.
“Most districts follow the law more carefully when they lay off teachers,” said Lantz Simpson, president of the Faculty Association, a teacher union. “This is not common.”
Simpson said SMC violated state and school procedure by failing to legally support or explain its decision to cut the programs and lay off the teachers.
But SMC officials maintained they’ve followed all the appropriate guidelines and point to an administrative law judge’s May 5 ruling that supported their decision. “I’m not surprised (by the lawsuit),” said Robert Sammis, the vice president of human resources at SMC. “It’s the typical process after an administrative layoff.
“They’re looking for another chance,” he added. “It’s a long shot and I think they realize that.”
“It’s a long shot and I think they realize that.” — – ROBERT SAMMIS Vice president of human resources, SMC
Sammis said there are likely to be many more layoffs before the school bridges next year’s multi-million dollar deficit. Eighty percent of SMC’s $112 million budget is spent on salaries, said Randy Lawson, vice president of academic affairs at the school.
The lawsuit follows a tempestuous debate administrators and the board of trustees are having with faculty at SMC, where officials are facing a multi-million dollar budget deficit for next year.
The eight teachers who brought the suit are Edward F. Bermudez, Mike H. Brandt, William Hogan, Richard V. Johncola, Stuart Sam, Lyle G. Stevenson, John Verdugo and Paul Walters.
In an effort that is estimated to save the school more than $1 million, the board voted in May to eliminate six academic programs: architecture, geographic information services, public safety, recreation, tourism and hospitality and transportation technology.
Eight full-time faculty and dozens of part-time instructors lost their jobs as a result of the cuts, which left more than 500 students without a major course of study.
A handful of student and faculty groups had asked the school to plug the deficit without cutting programs, mostly by encouraging early retirements and trimming class offerings.
When administrators went ahead with the cuts anyway — saying they were acting to impact the least amount of students possible — SMC faculty and classified workers voted overwhelmingly for a vote of no confidence in Piedad Robertson, SMC’s president.
They also made a call to action to SMC’s board of trustees, demanding it reinstate the cut programs.
Then came the lawsuit. As well as challenging the way the school went about making the cuts, the lawsuit called the decision to cut transportation technology arbitrary, saying the estimated savings are dwarfed by the actual value of the equipment.
It also alleges that three of the eight laid-off teachers are competent to fill positions for which junior teachers have been hired.
“The remedy is that they be reinstated,” Lantz said. “By the time the decision comes down they should have been working or we also want back pay.”
Sammis said he expects the lawsuit to be turned down. He said it doesn’t raise any legal arguments that were not addressed in the May hearing.
Herb Roney, chairman of the board of trustees, agreed.
“We’ve followed the processes that we know are mandated by code,” said Roney, adding that the cuts were difficult but necessary.
While administrators figure SMC’s deficit for next year to be in the neighborhood of $9.5 million, Simpson said it’s actually closer to $4 million, mostly from increased retirement and bonus costs.
Scott Lay, budget director for the Community College League of California, said that although the situation in state funding is much improved over the 10 percent cut schools were bracing for in March, there may still be some substantial shortcomings.
“The community college budget had been in such a yo-yo ride for the last six months,” he said. “It’s been a real challenge to the districts on how best to get through this crisis while keeping their doors open.”
The state’s annual $4.8 billion contribution to California’s 108 community colleges is currently expected to be down by 2 percent, Lay said. And the state controller announced this week that funding for community colleges will be delayed until a budget is adopted, a move that could quickly exhaust smaller school’s reserve funds, Lay said.
To make things worse, Lay said Davis may wait on the results of the recall effort before making his final decision on the budget.
“If that’s the case, a lot of community colleges will shut down,” he said. “I can’t underestimate how critical the situation is.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 27, 2003. Read the original PDF.