On November 3, 2020, the City of Long Beach will hold a Consolidated Municipal Election with the Los Angeles General Municipal Election at which voters will consider a ballot measure relating to the Long Beach Community Services General Purpose Oil Production Tax Increase Measure. To make sure there is adequate time for those interested in writing arguments for or against the measure, the Interest Form for Argument Writers is available today on the Office of the City Clerk webpage www.longbeach.gov/cityclerk/elections/ballot-measures/. All interest forms must be received by the City Clerk at 411 West Ocean Boulevard, Lobby Level, Window #12, Long Beach, CA 90802, no later than 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 6, 2020.

The Mayor will announce his nominees for argument writers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, August 10, 2020. The City Council will vote on those nominations at the City Council meeting on August 11, 2020. Arguments FOR or AGAINST the ballot measure are due to the City Clerk by Friday, August 14, 2020 at 4:30 p.m., while rebuttal arguments are due by Monday, August 24, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. Arguments must not exceed 300 words and rebuttal arguments must not exceed 250 words. For more information, please contact the Office of the City Clerk, at (562) 570-6101.

A press release received by LBREPORT.com at midmorning (Aug. 5) states that "#United LBUSD" describing itself as "a movement of 5,000 concerned parents and teachers coming together to express their concerns over lack of community input with recent district decisions on distance learning," quotes a Lakewood High teacher in stating: "The goal should be the reopening of schools for in person learning when it is safe with a comprehensive plan that keeps students, teachers, staff and our LBUSD families safe. Parents and teachers are united in this goal. Until then, we are ALL Safer at Home."

The group and its release appear to be associated with a Facebook page by Parents for Teachers LBUSD.

The release states:

[Release text] In a matter of hours last Friday, July 31, thousands of parents and teachers organized together in response to a series of district updates on distance learning that have left both constituencies with more questions than answers. For parents, it came in an email sent late Friday evening requesting parents to either opt into online instruction for the entire school year or enroll in face-to-face instruction once it’s deemed safe, but engage in online instruction in the interim.

To compound the matter, the district enrollment system crashed. Parents were unable to follow suit on the district request nor contact district offices with questions over the weekend. With an original re-enrollment deadline of August 7th looming, parents were left with questions regarding learning models unanswered.For teachers on the other hand, frustration has been escalating due to a recent mandate by LBUSD requiring teachers to deliver instruction from their empty campus classrooms.

At a time when the science of Covid19 is still emerging, coupled with an ever-rising surge incases and related deaths, concerns about safety abound. According to a recent study from the Kaiser Family Foundation, one in four teachers in the US, or nearly 1.5 million people, are at increasedrisk for Covid19. Considering how many infected teachers can bring the virus home to their families, including their own kids, this is cause for alarm.

Jason Goldfischer, a teacher at Lakewood High School sums up concerns about teaching from his classroom, "The goal should be the reopening of schools for in person learning when it is safe with a comprehensive plan that keeps students, teachers, staff and our LBUSD families safe.Parents and teachers are united in this goal. Until then, we are ALL Safer at Home."

Parents and teachers plan to express their concerns and solidarity in a physically distanced car caravan demonstration and public comments to coincide with today’s 5 pm board meeting.

United LBUSD is a movement of 5,000 concerned parents and teachers coming together to express their concerns over lack of community input with recent district decisions on distance learning. As parents and teachers, United LBUSD takes pride in the ALL MEANS ALL mantra of the school district and advocates to ensure all students receive an equitable and safe learning environment that’s informed by science and data.

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