College board votes to lay off employees

Coastline Community College will lay off up to 32 employees this summer after it did not receive grant funding to run an Irvine career center it has operated for years.

Coast Community College District’s board of trustees voted to issue the layoff notices Wednesday night due to the lack of funds.

“This is not a happy vote for any of us,” board President Lorraine Prinsky said.

Coastline’s two Orange County One-Stop Centers, which provide job training and searching resources, are funded through federal grants.

With final approval pending from the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Orange County’s Workforce Investment Board doles out grants to run the centers.

For about 15 years, Coastline has received grants to run two One-Stop Centers, one in Irvine and one in Westminster, trustees said.

This year, they expect to receive funding for only a Westminster center with another operator taking over Irvine.

The 32 pink slips sent out cover staff for both locations while Coastline works out which employees need to be retained.

They expect some of the layoff notices to be rescinded for staff needed to run the Westminster center and a satellite location for veterans at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base.

Employees of the One-Stop Centers received yearly notices stating their employment was contingent on continued grant funding, Coastline staff said.

Some board members objected to the layoffs, but they ultimately voted 4 to 1 to approve the measure.

FOR THE RECORD:
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the vote was unanimous.

“We find ourselves in a situation where we really don’t have an alternative,” board member Jerry Patterson said.