Long Beach after-school contract ending, putting 80-plus jobs at risk
The City of Long Beach is ending its long-running role in providing before- and after-school services through the Long Beach Unified School District, putting more than 80 city employees at risk of layoffs when the contract ends Aug. 15, 2026.
The change affects the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine, which helped provide services at Long Beach Unified schools for decades. It also raises questions about the continuity of expanded-learning services for school-age children and their families, although the approved sources do not establish that services will end across the district.
What is changing
The city is pulling out of the before- and after-school program rather than continuing its contract with the school district. The contract was scheduled to end on Aug. 15, according to reporting published July 10, 2026.
More than 80 city employees were reported to be at risk of layoffs as a result. That figure describes potential job losses, not completed layoffs. The available reporting does not establish how many employees will ultimately lose their jobs or whether some will be reassigned to other city work.
The services are primarily funded through California’s Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, known as ELOP, along with related ASES funding. Those funding streams support programs outside regular school hours. The approved sources do not detail what replacement arrangements, if any, the school district has made for the affected school sites.
A workforce and family impact
For Long Beach, the decision has two immediate local dimensions: city employment and access to programs that cover before- and after-school hours. The potential layoffs would affect more than 80 municipal workers, while the contract change could affect the continuity of expanded-learning services used by school-age families.
The city’s role in the program also connected municipal recreation services with Long Beach Unified schools. Ending that arrangement changes how those services are delivered, even though the approved information does not say whether the district or another provider will take over the work.
The next known deadline is the contract’s scheduled end on Aug. 15. A final employee count and any reassignment decisions remain unresolved in the available sources.
Part of broader budget pressure
The contract change comes as Long Beach faces wider pressure on its budget and city services. The city’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget includes measures affecting neighborhood programs, public safety and small-business support.
Among the listed allocations is $285,000 in one-time funding for Safe Passages. That allocation provides context for the competing demands in the city’s budget, but the approved budget source does not quantify a citywide Fiscal Year 2027 deficit.
The budget document also does not by itself explain the full financial calculation behind ending the school-services contract. The available reporting establishes the contract deadline, the potential workforce impact and the role of state expanded-learning funds, but it does not provide a final savings figure.
For residents, the practical question over the coming weeks is how the city’s withdrawal will affect both the employees currently providing the services and the before- and after-school coverage available at Long Beach Unified schools after Aug. 15.
Sources
Look for updates to this story
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