LONG BEACH - A member of Long Beach City College's governing board will urge his colleagues to take a stand against a controversial state initiative that would bar labeling students and employees by race.

The passage of Proposition 54, known as the "Racial Privacy Initiative,' would prohibit the state and local governments from using race, ethnicity, color or national origin to classify students, staff members and contractors.

Roberto Uranga, trustee for the Long Beach Community College District, has recommended the proposition be the subject of discussion during today's board meeting. He said Monday that he will urge colleagues to oppose the initiative.

"I think it's a proposition that basically does nothing to advance education,' Uranga said. "Basically, it's just a way of taking us backward instead of forward.'

With voters set to decide the fate of Proposition 54 during the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, proponents of the ballot initiative have argued that race is becoming less and less significant as interracial unions contribute to the state's diversity. They say public education leaders have spent too much time focusing on race while the achievement gap between whites and certain minority groups continues to grow.

But opponents say the proposition will make it impossible to even track the achievement gap, and it will hamper efforts to study workplace discrimination, hate crimes and disparities in educational resources.

Uranga said racial statistics shed light on the populations served by Long Beach City College and they enable the college to qualify for federal grants.

"Who are we serving? What's our population? What does our population look like and where are the areas we need to expand services or increase the level of services?,' he said. "It's all about equity.'