SMC trustees lay off 45 people to address financial mismanagement

Santa Monica College (SMC) Superintendent/President Kathryn E. Jeffery expresses her sympathy towards the members of SMC staff that have been laid off in the beginning of 2026 due to a projected $16.7 million deficit at the Board of Trustees Regular Meeting on Tues. May 5, 2026 at the Student Services Orientation Hall (Room 183) at 1900 Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by | Maria Lebedev)

After failing to address a foreseeable financial crisis, the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees voted to lay off some of its lowest-paid employees to help close a $16.9 million structural deficit.

For 20 years, SMC has continued using the same plan that nearly bankrupted the college on five separate occasions, according to trustee Rob Rader. “We refuse to engage in a thoughtful process, and therefore we end up doing things that are reactive, short-sighted and punishing to those that are least able to endure it and least able to fight it,” Rader said.

“Instead of us coming together to talk about ways we could all make shared sacrifice, we picked the people that was most convenient and easy to bear the brunt of these cost reductions, including the layoffs,” Rader said.

The list of those impacted will be finalized on May 14, with their last day of employment set for July 1, according to the trustees’ May 5 meeting agenda. 

At their February meeting, the trustees voted 4-3 to lay off the equivalent of 57 classified full-time employees. After three months of deliberation, the list was downsized to 45 employees — 41 people working full time and four part-time workers.

The union agreed to furlough one day a month from June 2026 to 2027 — a 12-day pay cut — so more people could keep their jobs. Workers willing to sign an agreement to retire in 2027 were exempt, so as not to affect their pensions, said Cindy Ordaz, California School Employees Association Chapter 36 president.

Management agreed to furlough two days a month indefinitely, and forgo their longevity raises, according to Ordaz.

President and Superintendent Kathryn Jeffery said the college did the best it could given its situation.

“The decisions that we made up to this point have not been easy, and no one feels good about it, and even as we look for ways to remove positions from the list for layoffs, we weren’t able to remove them all,” said Jeffery during the meeting.

However, Rader said he opposed the layoffs because there were ways for no one to lose their jobs. He suggested the highest earners, those making over $100,000, take a pay cut, but it was rejected.

Reducing the pay of multiple administrators would amount to them returning a pay raise they received in 2023, according to Ordaz. The union was told it wouldn’t be receiving that same contractually obligated wage hike at the end of their bargaining agreement, and filed an unfair labor practice charge against SMC. Realizing the college couldn’t afford to pay them, the CSEA settled for three additional sick days, which can count as time served on their pension, and three more vacation days, Ordaz said. 

The union also proposed Jeffery sacrifice a $250,000 supplemental retirement package she received from the institution in September 2025 — the same day the trustees voted to implement budget cuts. But, “they didn’t want to entertain that at all,” she said. 

During public comment, Faculty Association President Peter Morse once again recommended changes in the healthcare policy for part-time faculty. He said some people are still offering to postpone, or bank, their pay to help raise money for the college. 

Besides those options, the trustees could have made a larger reduction in management positions. “If you compare us to other campuses, we needed to have more cuts there,” said Quinoñes-Perez during the meeting. 

“The administration did not do their job with this,” Quinoñes-Perez added. “I’m not going to sit here in silence and have them talk about taking away your health benefits. Talk about cutting classes. Talk about cutting salaries — when it’s not done among themselves — I’m not.” 

Transparent California, the state’s largest database for public pay and pensions, most recent records show Jeffery is the highest earner at the college, collecting $386,680 in total pay. With the addition of benefits, she earns $498,478 yearly. 

On average, a vice president at SMC makes $369,901 in total pay and benefits, according to Transparent California. An instructional English tutor receives $50,991. 

At the meeting, Rader said he’d support the layoff proposal if the trustees agreed to have outside counsel assess the need for layoffs — before the state threatens to take over the college. No one seconded the motion.

The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office is monitoring SMC, according to Academic Senate president Vicenta Arrizon. At the meeting, she said the college is showing five of seven indicators signaling systemic fiscal distress, including negative spending trends and reserve levels below recommended thresholds.

If an outside agency were to investigate the school, it could validate some concerns shared among personnel, but it can also trigger a state takeover of the college. After that, all contracts are null and void, there would be no more unions and most of the trustees will be dismissed, Ordaz said. So, she doesn’t support an external independent review either, she said.

Morale among classified employees is the lowest it’s been since the college implemented layoffs in 2003, according to Ordaz. But they continue showing up for work.

“A happy employee will give their heart and soul right to the work that they do,” Ordaz said. “We are the people alongside our faculty who are championing for our students, and that is always at the forefront.”

“We’re here because we want to be here. We’re here because we really care,” Ordaz said.

After two meetings inside the Student Service Center, the trustees will return to the Business Building, Room 117 for their next session on Tuesday June 9 at 6 p.m.

In March, more than 50 people signed up for public comment. On Tuesday, the number dwindled to three.

Multiple people in the crowd cried after hearing Antonio Sanchez, a painter, thank the trustees for the years he was able to work at the campus. Since February, Sanchez and his colleagues have pleaded with the board during public comment to let him retain his job, and still his name was on the adopted layoff list.

“I’m very sad that I wasn’t one of the people who was going to stay, and I work hard, I always did my best, and I hope that when things get better, you guys, for the college, will consider bringing me back,” said Sanchez to the trustees while choking up.

Sergio Cardenas, a grounds worker who pleaded for Sanchez’s position too, thanked the union during his comment. They were able to get him removed from the layoff list.

“I’m really grateful that I was able to stay on and avoid layoffs,” said Cardenas during public comment. “At the same time, it’s hard not to feel for the coworkers who did not get that same outcome. They’re good people, who put in good work and they didn’t deserve to be put in that position.”

“I’m not trying to go back over everything that got us here, but it’s important to remember that decisions that are small carry real consequences for all of us. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. I hope that if possible, future financial decisions can help bring those people, those employees back as soon as possible—they’re missed and they matter to this place.”