California school districts deciding how to cope with state budget cuts
L.A. Unified and others consider spending reductions amid uncertainty about their funding. Balanced budgets must be submitted by June 30.
Like many school systems throughout the state, Los Angeles Unified School District officials spent Thursday reviewing financial projections that will include cutting programs and services because Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised budget does not provide enough funding.
Even though the governor included an additional $1.8 billion in state education funding, L.A. Unified administrators decreased earlier projections for cuts but said they still expect a $353-million shortfall because Schwarzenegger's budget fails to include a cost-of-living increase and because the district will have to use unrestricted, general funds to make up for a 10% state cut to programs, including counseling and music and art education.
"What happened [Wednesday] was a short-term Band-Aid that doesn't even cover the wound," said Megan Reilly, L.A. Unified's chief financial officer.
L.A. Unified officials, who had been expecting a nearly $484-million shortfall over the next two years, said Thursday that the district could resort to furloughs, delay class-size reduction plans and textbook purchases and reduce contributions to workers' compensation plans to try to balance their books.
The district, the largest in the state, has not issued preliminary layoff notices to any permanent teachers, but could still lay off up to 6,000 probationary teachers and not replace about 2,000 other instructors to make up for the expected shortfall.
L.A. Unified has trailed other state school districts in making cuts as a political strategy to keep pressure on the governor and the state Legislature, officials said. But that approach already has caused problems at schools where principals are struggling to make classroom assignments and program decisions for next year.
Board members and senior district administrators, who held a lengthy afternoon study session on the budget, said they want to protect classrooms and instruction as much as possible.
"I need to see the pain felt here in this building," board member Yolie Flores Aguilar said at the district headquarters meeting.
Board members have not yet publicly addressed specific reductions but are said to be considering large cuts to such departments as adult and special education, and elementary and secondary instruction, according to a document obtained by The Times.
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