LAUSD to cut thousands of jobs, but save the black student achievement program in the budget

Thousands of jobs will be cut over the next three years but a popular program to support Black students will survive under a budget-cutting plan approved by the Los Angeles Board of Education that shows how the district will avoid deficits.

Under pressure from community advocates and students, the board reversed major cuts to the district’s Black Student Success Program.

The original budget would have cut $100 million of the $125 million in annual spending on the program, a reduction that would have taken effect on July 1, 2027.

But board members approved two amendments to restore the funding. The first amendment, proposed by Kelly Gonez, and approved unanimously, restored it to $50 million – reducing next year’s half cut, to $50 million. The amendment also called for staff to present a plan in August to restore another $25 million

Board member Karla Griego then proposed reducing the retiree health benefits fund by another $175 million, which would appear to close the entire gap in the three-year financial plan.

Griego’s amendment passed on a 5-2 vote, as did the revised funding plan. The two opposing votes each time were Nick Melvoin and Tanya Ortiz Franklin.

The status of the Black Student Achievement Plan funding was so confusing that district communications staff Tuesday night could not confirm whether the money had returned.

At least one board member, when contacted, believed the refund was over.

The approved funding plan still cuts $500 million in funding for schools identified as having high-needs students.

The board’s actions came on the same day it approved major labor agreements, which narrowly averted a strike in April. The labor agreements will add more than $1 billion a year to the district’s costs, provide higher wages and maintain employee health benefits and expand certain services to students.

Acting Supt. Andres Chait said the acceptance of the “financial stabilization plan” is painful but necessary. He said, despite the proposed cuts, the approval of labor contracts provides important support to workers and ultimately to students. As more money becomes available — from the state or through local savings in other areas — the cuts will be fixed, he said.

“These are difficult discussions, because all decisions affect people,” said Chait. “The reality is that we must do both: address the district’s financial challenges and continue to invest in people and services that directly support students.

Why did the LA school board have to do this?

California law requires all school districts to operate within their own financial system.

The LA County Office of Education enforces the law and requires local school districts to settle within the next three years. According to budget rules, Los Angeles Unified doesn’t meet the benchmarks so it must show how it will cut back to stay out of the red in a “financial stabilization plan.”

Separate from the stabilization plan, the district must approve its annual budget, which will include authorized cuts. A vote on the full budget is scheduled for next week.

What are the key features of a financial stabilization plan?

Without the cuts, LA Unified projects a deficit of $1.3 billion by the end of next year and $3.6 billion by the end of the following year.

Most of the district’s spending is on salaries and benefits, so broad cuts will likely include layoffs and layoffs. The initial estimate of the first plan was that it would eliminate 6,000 jobs by the end of the three-year period. The region has approximately 83,000 employees.

The budget plan also includes seven unpaid days over a three-year period, which will have to be negotiated with the union. Union leaders said on Tuesday they would oppose the closing dates.

To eliminate future deficits, the district is focusing on discretionary spending.

What caused the big backlash?

Union leaders opposed cuts that would cost jobs; they want the district to focus on limiting outside contracts and capping the salaries of senior officials.

Board member Kelly Gonez proposed other cuts: $20 million more for central office positions — already largely cut; cuts to the school police budget of $3.5 million next year in 2026-27 and $7 million the following year.

School police union leader Gil Gamez said the reduction in the first year could be managed by closing positions and laying off three officers. In the second year, the impact would be 17 to 35 layoffs, depending on how the language of the board act is interpreted.

He said officers in this field have already been reduced to about 70 in the district’s 900 schools or 710 square miles.

Another source of strong opposition is the proposed elimination of the $500 million awarded to schools through the Student Equity Needs Index. The SENI is a formula that uses educational, health and social indicators – such as chronic absenteeism, English learner rates and local conditions – to rank schools according to need.

The SENI cuts translate into 4,500 lost jobs, for services such as counseling, mental health support and educational assistance.

Is the budget picture that bad?

State budget rules do not allow the district to include unguaranteed future revenues. So the picture can change.

For example, for the 2026-27 school year, the district will receive $328 million in discretionary block funding. School districts have received such funding annually in recent years, but it is not guaranteed. Therefore, that large amount of funding cannot be received as a source of funds in the second and third year of the three-year plan.

And there are no full statistics on the explosion of federal tax revenue related to the growing wealth of the state’s wealthiest citizens and the rise of artificial intelligence. Finally, the state will have to increase funding for schools because of a federal law that sets aside a certain percentage of tax money for schools. But that money also has not received points in the budget calculation.

In a larger sense, if the economy of the country maintains its current path, schools will receive more funding. But in the event of an economic or stock market crash, budget projections can be even worse than those managed by the fiscal stabilization program.

The bigger picture includes the continued decline in enrollment – funding is ultimately tied to enrollment. Over time, declining enrollment will put the district under pressure to cut staff and close schools.

Was Tuesday’s vote the final word on cuts?

Not completely. Most of the cuts come into effect on July 1, 2027. Therefore, there is a year to develop other solutions and benefit from increased government assistance – if economic trends remain stable.

But funding cuts of this magnitude cannot be resolved without significant cuts in other key areas

The school board was expected to pass the financial stability plan this week as a precursor to passing the budget, which is scheduled for next week, with an implementation deadline before the end of June.

Total project spending next year adds up to $20.6 billion, up from $18.8 billion this year. The district is spending more than the guaranteed money so far, which is $18.6 billion.