Layoffs Occur at Genesee Area Skill Center in Advance of GISD Takeover

Over 50 employees at the Genesee Area Skill Center were laid off on Wednesday by the Flint School District in preparation of the takeover by the Genesee Intermediate School District.

According to MLive, 35 instructors at the GASC were let go along with 19 non-teaching, non-clerical positions.

At Wednesday's meeting, Flint School Board President Antoinette Lockett said "we're working to do what is best for everyone - students, employees, the programs as a whole. It's a sad move, but a bittersweet one."

A "good faith agreement" was signed by Flint and the GISD in June that will move the operation of the GASC to the GISD beginning next year. The agreement also calls for the GISD to purchase the land and the building from Flint on a land contract following an appraisal later this month.

The GISD board ended a contract with Flint to operate the skill center last month. They argued it was due to staffing concerns, lack of facility upgrades, inoperable phone systems, and improper spending of funds from a 1-mill county tax levy.

Flint schools own the facility and 91 percent of the 1-mill levy collected by the GISD is used to pay for the GASC's operation. The remainder of the operating costs come from Flint Schools.

Roughly 1,700 students throughout the county used programs at the GASC during the 2012-13 school year. They learned trades that included automotive and mechanical repair, forensic investigation, veterinary sciences, computer-aided design and robotics in preparation for potential careers beyond high school.