Students protest St. Louis Community College layoffs
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Community College plans to cut nearly 100 jobs after a night of intense protests.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the college's governing board approved a series of budget reduction proposals on Thursday. The proposal includes a voluntary buyout, suspension of sabbaticals, changes to benefits and the contested layoff of as many as 70 faculty and 25 staff members.
The meeting was halted minutes before the vote when protesters laid down in front of the board and started shouting, "Justice for faculty." The protest continued for nearly an hour before the board proceeded to vote.
College Chancellor Jeff Pittman says the decision to lay faculty off was difficult but necessary.