Long Beach approves $1,490,000 for crisis response team
The City Council accepted a federal SAMHSA grant and raised citywide appropriations by $1,490,000 to fund the Community Crisis Response Team.
Two hosts walk through the week’s edition in conversation — accept and expend samhsa funding for, parents press for special education funding, and what’s coming next. Generated by Aware, from this week’s verified summaries.
Speakers backed the grant but said a five-person team working 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. leaves too many mental health calls to police.
A mental health grant passed with bigger questions attached. The Long Beach City Council approved Item 22, allowing the city to accept and expend $1,490,000 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for the Community Crisis Response Team. The action included increasing appropriations by $1,490,000, offset by grant revenue citywide. The motion carried.
Public comment was supportive, but not satisfied. One speaker called the funding a good step during suicide prevention month, then asked what it would mean for the team’s future. That speaker described the current operation as bare bones, with five staff members and hours from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Others said mental health emergencies do not stop in the evening, and argued that limited coverage often leaves police as the default response.
Several speakers pushed the same point from a broader budget angle. They said economic strain and enforcement actions can deepen mental health needs, and urged the city to shift more money away from policing and toward crisis workers and clinicians. What happens next is narrower than that debate: the council approved the grant agreement and related documents, including later amendments, so the city can use the federal money for the crisis response program. The larger fight over staffing, hours, and whether the service expands to 24 hours remains unresolved.
Parents press for special education funding and communication clarity
Parents described a special education system under strain. They said budget cuts, staffing limits, and uneven communication are making it harder for families to understand what services are available and how decisions are made.
Their requests were direct. Parents asked the district to explain how special education money is being spent, protect services from further erosion, and give families clearer information when programs or staffing change. They tied that concern to daily school experience, saying weak communication leaves parents trying to piece together decisions that affect students.
They also pressed for a stronger link between parent input and the district’s larger planning process. Families said budget choices and LCAP decisions should reflect what they are hearing from students receiving special education services. The message was less about one line item than about trust: parents want clearer accounting, steadier services, and a more visible path from public comment to district action.
Speakers challenge comment rules and city services
During general public comment, speakers criticized proposed limits on public comment, alleged Brown Act violations, and attacked police and surveillance spending. Refuse and sanitation employees then described staffing shortages, rented trucks, safety concerns, overtime pressure, and management problems they said city leaders need to address.
Speakers alleged Brown Act issues, opposed surveillance spending, and described sanitation staffing and equipment shortages.
Board approves special education settlement terms
The board reported that it approved settlement terms in anticipated litigation involving a special education matter. Member Benitez made the motion, Member Otto seconded it, and the action passed 5-0 in closed session.
litigation
Council passes FY27 budget package
The City Council adopted the Mayor’s FY27 budget recommendations, approved the Budget Oversight Committee package, and passed the remaining ordinances, fee changes, and capital plan items. Public comment focused on layoffs, the Justice Fund, veterans and tenant services, Engine 14, library funding, and complaints about the budget process.
The adopted budget sets city staffing, service levels, fees, and program funding for the coming fiscal year.
CAC honors Rodney Ford and welcomes families
CAC facilitators opened with condolences for Rodney Ford, a longtime CAC board leader, and recognized district staff and many first-time attendees. They described the session as a soft meeting focused on connection after a complicated first 11 days of school for many families.
memorial
What we didn’t fit in this Sundays edition
LONG BEACH had 98 more items this week. Here are sixfour — the rest are on Aware.
- GOVERNANCEAccept and Expend Proposition 64 Public Health and Safety Grant (Health and Human Services). The Council approved executing agreements to accept and expend $4,499,948 in Proposition 64 public health and safety grant funding to enhance youth prevention, community education, and responsible cannabis retail efforts, and increased appropriations by the same amount offset by grant revenues. The motion carried.
- GOVERNANCEEngine 14 funding push falls short. Speakers urged the Council to preserve Engine 14 staffing, warning of slower emergency response if it is cut. A substitute motion to continue the budget hearing and consider $1.6 million in reserve funds for a Station 14 fast response vehicle pilot failed.
- GOVERNANCEScreen-time concerns push device limits onto board agenda. Parents, educators, and a student urged the district to reduce Chromebook and screen use, especially in early grades, and to restrict apps such as games and YouTube while addressing privacy and AI concerns. The issue also surfaced in board member reports, where a member requested a future agenda item on limiting student device use.
- GOVERNANCEParents object to outsourced extended care transition. Parents said the district’s shift to an external provider for after-school or extended care came with short notice, confusing re-enrollment, and inadequate family engagement. They asked for better planning and restoration of dedicated district staffing for care programs.
- GOVERNANCEPublic Comment: Student Mental Health Services, Staffing Ratios, Safety Threats, and Collaboration with Labor. A parent raised concerns about declining student mental health and reduced services, citing a middle school with over 1,200 students and three full-time support staff (about 400 students per staff member). They also referenced bomb threats and said student and staff safety must be the top priority, urging collaboration with a union unit to support students.
- GOVERNANCEParents seek district help for Longfellow combination class. Parents said a 4th/5th grade combination class at Longfellow was created too late and without enough planning, amid leadership instability. They asked for district monitoring, resources, and better communication because of academic, social, and bullying concerns.
- GOVERNANCEPublic Comment: Expanded Learning / ELOP Program Access and Transportation Concerns. A parent raised concerns about difficulties navigating expanded learning programming and reported their child was denied participation and removed after a referral process. The superintendent responded that the feedback suggested staff may not be prepared to work with the child and said the district could use the input to improve, while offering to follow up on individual situations and noting transportation was also being raised in listening sessions.
- GOVERNANCEPublic Comment: TK Enrollment and Start-of-Year Communication Gaps (Orientation, Bus Service, Program Information). A parent of a TK student reported receiving little to no communication after enrollment, including uncertainty about orientation and bus services. They said bus service notification arrived about a week and a half after school started and program information arrived the Tuesday after school started, describing the experience as nerve-wracking for a first-time parent.
- GOVERNANCEClosing Public Comment: High School Safety Procedures, Campus Exiting, and Communication. A high school parent described safety concerns related to school exit procedures and schedule changes, including large numbers of general education students crowding gates. The parent said they had reached out and received acknowledgment but wanted clearer ways to address safety issues and improved communication for high school families.
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