The Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education gave a presentation Tuesday in which they said they predict enrollment will drop 30% over the next decade.
That will mean decisions will need to be made about which campuses to keep open, which academic programs to cut, and what employee benefits the staff will get.
And meanwhile, contract negotiations are coming up with the teachers union. The union is asking for a 20% raise over the next two years, and they say they don’t want to hear about financial doom considering Governor Gavin Newsom said last week that there is the largest budget surplus in state history.
But with enrollment declining, there will indeed be less funding from the state. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said “the perfect storm is brewing.”
So, why are people leaving LAUSD? There are many factors. Families are moving out of L.A. and California due to the high cost of living. There were also frustrations over the at-home learning program during the pandemic. And some parents are pulling their kids out of LAUSD to attend charter or private schools.
But at the meeting Tuesday, an LAUSD board member said there is no need for parents or district employees to feel “panic or hopelessness.”