Long Beach education leaders on Thursday said they will continue to work together to prepare students and preserve instructional quality even as they grapple with state budget cuts.

The heads of Cal State Long Beach, the Long Beach school district and Long Beach City College told the audience at a "State of Education' luncheon at the Long Beach Hilton that a tough fiscal climate will force them to continue to do more with less money.

"Our funding remains very unpredictable for the future ... We are in a state of flux,' said LBCC

Superintendent-President Jan Kehoe.

Kehoe says the community college faces a "perfect storm' of an increasing number of students, many of whom are unprepared, as well as inadequate funding and stiff political competition for state dollars.

"Over the last six months, the storms have gotten a little bit worse,' she said.

LBCC is near the bottom of state community colleges in per- pupil funding, she says. Unless the state takes steps to make community college funding more equitable, LBCC will "have to do something drastic.'

Long Beach school Superintendent Chris Steinhauser told the audience of business, nonprofit and educational representatives that the district remains committed to cutting class size for fourth and fifth grades even in the face of a budget deficit.

The district for the first time in decades had declining enrollment this year - with 100 fewer students.

"We really have to work with less to do more. And I'm proud to say that we are doing it,' Steinhauser said.

Robert Maxson, president of Cal State Long Beach, says his campus will take a $15 million cut under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget. CSULB will cope with the cuts by enrolling about 1,000 fewer students next year.

The governor's budget "is probably the best-case scenario for Cal State Long Beach,' Maxson said.

The three leaders, as well as Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill, praised their joint efforts to implement their "Seamless Education' program, which has aimed to coordinate teaching and testing methods and academic standards from preschool to graduate school.

Under the program, staff from CSULB, LBCC and the Long Beach school district have worked together to plan courses and train teachers.

In other cities, "they don't talk to each other,' O'Neill said.

John T. Wagner, president of St. Mary Medical Center Foundation, said he was impressed by the three education leaders' discussion.

"We got three very dynamic, creative people here that have the guts and the conviction to get things done,' he said.