Letters to the Editor

Stop the Waste

Long Beach must run a better business organization and stop wasting money on frivolous color crosswalks, free events, free food for all, excessive city employee pensions and more.

In February 2023, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson successfully proposed an expansion of the mayor’s office staff from six to 12 full-time employees, essentially doubling the staff size.

This expansion included adding six new positions, including two new “deputy mayor” roles focused on housing and economic development [thereby] growing the mayor’s office budget to over $2 million (up from roughly $1.3 million).

The proposal faced some pushback from certain City Council members, like Daryl Supernaw and Al Austin, who questioned the need for a larger staff in the mayor’s office, suggesting that those resources would be better utilized in departments like Public Works.

They also expressed concern over the “weak mayor” structure in Long Beach, where the council and city manager hold the primary governance authority.

Tom Clad

Sun-Baked Wasteland

Three more trees came down this week on the block where I live, adding to the number of trees lost in the 26 years since I moved onto this then tree-lined, tree-shaded, welcoming street. It is depressing to look at the Google Maps photos over the years, watching the lush, shady street devolve into a sun-baked wasteland.

As the global warming induced heat wave of the last few weeks has us sweating in its grasp, I can’t help but think of how much more comfortable we would have been if those lost trees were still standing. No one had air conditioning at that time because no one had needed it. The trees did the job.

But no, the trees had to come down for all the usual reasons: they dropped too many leaves, or not enough leaves, or the wrong kind of leaves; they were too close to the house or not close enough; they provided too much shade or not enough shade; or they had the audacity to drop their flower petals on our lawns and are just too messy.

Meanwhile, fires are threatening to consume us and the smoke is poisoning the very air we breathe. Global warming is not just coming – thanks in large part to cataclysmic worldwide deforestation, it is already here. In our day-late and dollar-short mentality, the proposed genius solutions include taxing Canada for allowing the smoke from their forest fires to come over the border and into our country, raking the leaves in our forests which somehow have stood for thousands of years without being raked (because the fallen leaves are a necessary part of the ecosystem, naturally providing fertilizer for the trees), cutting down more trees so there won’t be as many trees left to burn, and purposely setting fires so there won’t be as many fires.

And, here in Long Beach (among many other brilliant ideas), cutting trees to make way for “environmentally friendly” bike lanes. This is, after all, the same city that creates “road diets” to purposely stall traffic while at the same time discouraging restaurant drive-throughs because of the air pollution created by stalled traffic. And, of course, none of this could in any way meaningfully offset the pollution belched out by the port.

These performative so-called solutions have nothing to do with actually protecting the environment (and thereby the health of us citizens), and everything to do with money and empty, feel-good politics.

Global warming is tightening its grip on all of us, as we are experiencing even as I write this. The answer is, and has always been, the simplest answer: trees. But we humans haven’t been able to see the forest for the trees and continue our self-destructive ways, armed with all the usual excuses. We must wake up and not be lulled into submission by developers and greedy city officials. It’s late, but hopefully not too late; it begins here and now, and it is up to us.

As the Lorax says in Dr. Seuss’ famous book: “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Merry Colvin

Future Within Reach

Across the country, high school seniors are making important choices about what comes next, while younger students are beginning to map out their own paths.

They are clear about what they want: learning that feels relevant, experiences that connect to real opportunities, and a future that feels within reach. Our responsibility as educators is to ensure they have access to the full range of options that can get them there.

In Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), we have made a deliberate commitment to center student voice – not just in conversations but in decision-making. That work in Long Beach started with a student summit of nearly 1,000 young people who helped envision the future of education in our city. Their ideas now live in LBUSD’s Vision 2035. Continuing this collaboration, students sit alongside adults in advisory roles. They are at the table, shaping change. Because while well-meaning adults can make meaningful improvements, truly listening to students and centering their experiences opens up endless possibilities for addressing the daily challenges they face in our schools.

One of the clearest messages we’ve received is this: high school must connect to life after graduation. That’s why Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways are not an add-on in Long Beach – they are a core part of how we view the high school experience. We’re not merely focused on course sequences or making sure students check a box indicating CTE completion. Instead, we’re taking a holistic approach to how students experience high school and how those experiences get them ready for college, careers and civic life.

All 15 of our high schools offer dual enrollment opportunities. But in the past few years, we have expanded these options further. At Browning Early College, one of our high schools, students can earn up to 60 college credits and their associate degree in hospitality management from Long Beach Community College (LBCC) upon graduation. That means students graduate with a college degree alongside their high school diploma. We have already celebrated two graduating classes that have reached this milestone.

Additionally, dual enrollment is integrated directly into our career pathways. During the school day, students take college-level courses aligned with their chosen industry. Many graduate with at least 12 college units already completed – an important boost toward college success.

Equally important, they do not have to navigate the college system alone or after hours. The pathway is built for them during the school day, as part of a clear sequence aligned with their interests and goals. The only exception to this in-school dual enrollment pathway is access to the teaching career.

Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) and Long Beach Community College (LBCC) have partnered to develop a dual enrollment pathway for current Long Beach high school students interested in a teaching career. Students who complete 12 units of designated classes in the teaching pipeline before graduation receive a conditional contract to return and teach in LBUSD after earning their teaching credential. LBCC classes for this pipeline are offered outside of regular school hours.

Dual enrollment offers more than just credits; it provides clarity. It gives students the opportunity to explore a field, build confidence and see themselves as capable of succeeding in higher education and the workforce.

We have also seen a significant expansion in work-based learning. Internships and workplace experiences are no longer limited to summer or senior year. Students start exploring careers as early as ninth grade, with many advancing to paid internships that earn them both course credit and real-world experience.

The impact is clear. I’ve heard from graduates now in college who say that a high school internship directly led to their next opportunity and ultimately shaped their career. These experiences give students a head start in skills, direction and motivation.

This work also encourages us to rethink the traditional boundaries of high school. Senior year doesn’t have to be confined entirely to a classroom. When students participate in meaningful work-based learning, we are effectively using the world as a classroom. That change opens up new possibilities that students may never have imagined.

CTE is sometimes framed as an alternative to college. In Long Beach Unified, we challenge that false narrative. Our pathways are designed to prepare students for both college and career. It’s about expanding options, not narrowing them.

As we look to the future, we remain in a strong place – but we are not standing still. We are continually imagining what is possible based on what our students teach us. Their voices steer us. Their aspirations challenge us. Their lived experiences shape the way we design schools that are responsive, rigorous and relevant.

When we prioritize student voice in decision-making, we are reminded that young people do not want a one-size-fits-all education. They seek pathways. They desire opportunity. They want to see a clear link between today’s classroom and tomorrow’s future.

Career pathways, when thoughtfully designed, equitably accessible and deeply aligned with student voices, are among the most effective ways to fulfill that promise.

And in Long Beach Unified, that promise belongs to every student.

Jill Baker

[Editor’s note: Dr. Jill Baker was the superintendent of Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) in California. She retired at the end of the 2025-26 school year.]