For students, school at Bakersfield College this year means paying more per unit, 10 percent fewer classes since last fall and paying for previously free supplies.

For teachers, it means fewer paid days and less support.

For the classified staff, this semester brought 53 layoffs and a fight over alleged unfair labor practices.

According to Janet Skibinski, president of the BC chapter of the California School Employees Association, the majority of the classified workers laid off this year were not let go correctly.

“The layoffs were not done according to our contract, nor according to the Education Code. They both clearly state, unless it’s otherwise negotiated with the union, layoffs must be done the last person hired, the first person that’s laid off,” Skibinski said. “And it was not done that way. Positions were targeted for layoffs.”

Tom Burke, assistant chancellor of administrative services for the district, said administrators are confident the layoffs were done according to seniority and the contract.

“We believe we did the classified layoffs correctly,” Burke said.

Two days of negotiating over layoffs between the classified employees union and the Kern Community College District ended in an impasse, Skibinski said. As a result of their differing viewpoints, the union has filed an unfair labor practice against the district.

“We wanted them to follow the law, and they wanted to do what they pleased,” Skibinski said.

The custodial grounds are just one area that felt the crunch of the budget cuts. According to Robert Day, director of custodial and grounds, due to layoffs and unfilled vacancies BC had about eight to 10 less custodians than last June.

“The level of service will not be what it was before the layoffs,” Day said. “We’re trying to maintain those levels, but it is virtually impossible.”

Day said the custodial staff is forced to prioritize tasks and catch things as they can. For example, he explained that an energy management person who operates the computerized cooling and heating system was laid off. The tasks of that position have now been delegated to other people who have their own duties to accomplish.

“We’re trying to please everybody, but we can’t please them in a timely fashion,” Day said. “It is just too difficult.”

Becky Hawthorne, who operates the Ticket Office in the Business Services Department, also said that she had experienced staffing problems.

“They cut all our personnel in the ticket office,” Hawthorne said. “It is just me now, period.”

While she would previously be helped by two student workers and the rest of her department, the student positions were eliminated and the rest of the department has been restricted from helping.

“We have less staff to serve the students,” said John Griffith, director of budget and business operations. “However, we’re looking for ways of streamlining and finding efficiencies to better serve students.”

A mediator was brought in to help resolve the concerns of the classified union and the district.