蜜桃影视

The financial state of the nation’s second-largest school district in Los Angeles can be convoluted and complex. But it’s important to read up, as the conversation on how much money the district has continues to swap out facts for politics, education expert Robin Lake said.

Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, resurfaced a 2015 independent commissioned by former L.A. Unified superintendent Ram贸n Cortines, summarizing its findings in a . The nonpartisan report attributed L.A. Unified’s money troubles to factors including “a significant structural ,” California’s low (albeit ) rank nationally in per-pupil funding, health care and pension costs, a disproportionate number of administrators, and student enrollment due not only to charters 鈥� which are increasingly being for traditional public schools’ plight 鈥� but also birth rate declines, dropouts and transfers out of the district.

“If people are going to be weighing in … I think there鈥檚 a responsibility to take a look at what the facts are,鈥� said Lake, who tweeted on the report during January鈥檚 teacher strike. 鈥淧eople have been pretty quick to point fingers.鈥�

Though there has been 鈥渁 long string of reports鈥� on L.A. Unified鈥檚 finances, the 2015 report is reputable because the commission that produced it was 鈥渕uch more鈥� nonpartisan and is not tied to the district鈥檚 current superintendent, Charles Kerchner, professor emeritus at Claremont Graduate University, told LA School Report in an email earlier this year. Superintendent Austin Beutner is a former businessman who was frequently disparaged by United Teachers Los Angeles before and during January鈥檚 teacher strike.

The report鈥檚 findings, which Kerchner called 鈥渞elatively clean,鈥� remain relevant in 2019.

The district’s updated budget and聽fiscal stabilization plan, unveiled last month, L.A. Unified’s deepening reliance on new funding 鈥� especially after it approved a new 聽in January that adds $840 million to its bills through 2021. Although L.A. Unified ended this past school year with a record nearly $2 billion in reserves,聽聽show that cushion near depletion by 2021. Without new funding, the district would be at risk of聽a聽.聽Officials are currently聽banking on a parcel tax on the ballot in June, and increased state funding, to help the district stay afloat聽in the coming years.

“I have a lot of sympathy for paying teachers what they’re worth, and teachers have hard jobs. I don’t want to dismiss that reality,鈥� Lake said. 鈥淏ut it’s a common tactic for districts to take the politically expedient route of settling a contract with numbers they can’t afford. 鈥� And ultimately, kids will pay the price for it.”

Here is Lake鈥檚 tweet string:

Some facts about the cause of LAUSD’s financial woes straight from a 2015 independent financial review. (note how many recommendations were not acted upon). Sorry, this is long, but that reflects the complexity of the root causes.

鈥ㄢ�� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

All large urban school systems have unique issues, but they are magnified in Los Angeles because the District must deal with these issues while laboring under California鈥檚 school financial system, which still provides among the lowest per-student funding amounts in the nation.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

High reliance on sales and income taxes reduce the stability and predictability of revenues. The nation鈥檚 largest school district, New York City Public Schools, provides $23,690 per student for funding鈥攏early double the amount of revenues allotted for LAUSD鈥檚 students.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

Much of the volatility is related to past, present & future declining enrollment, high costs for employee benefits, sp ed services, and retiree benefits. But the vagaries of the economy and trends in state and federal requirements and funding levels are also significant factors.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

About 1/2 of the loss of students is due to increased enrollments in charter schools, but about 1/2 due to decline in the birth rate as well as students dropping out of school or transferring to other school districts.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

It must be recognized that there is no one cause for the decline in the District鈥檚 enrollment, but rather it is the culmination of various factors, some within and some outside, of the District鈥檚 control.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

The District must make every effort to attract and retain students and parents by offering high-quality schools, but also must not put off difficult financial decisions by making unrealistic assumptions about future enrollment.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

Even if LAUSD had no more new charter schools, its enrollment would continue to decline due to demographic factors, factors that are not within its
control, and that are unlikely to reverse in the coming years.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

The District has not reduced staff commensurate with loss of enrollment
and, in fact, had experienced higher salary costs because of both salary and benefit increases and increases in staff.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

More than 56% of District teachers have reached the maximum salary level, 10% above the average for the state.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

Currently, 75% of staff has a strong attendance. 聽If 25% of school site staff are missing 5% or more of their work during the school year, the loss of instruction time and productivity, and the expense of finding substitute labor, is deeply troubling.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

Of the $9,788 in over ADA revenues received from the state, fully 27% of that payment goes to cover pension and healthcare costs, according to the CDE. Per FTE, the District鈥檚 expenditures for benefits is 9.4% higher than the statewide average.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

The California Public Employees鈥� Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers鈥� Retirement System (CalSTRS) pension reforms have brought increased costs to the District.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

The District serves one of the largest populations of Special Education students in the country. Data implies there is an over identification of students in LAUSD鈥檚 Special Education program. But, only about 70% of the cost is paid by dollars specifically identified for Sp Ed.

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

I could go on, but obviously, the reasons for LAUSD’s financial mess are complex. Anyone trying to simplify to one cause is mistaken or intentionally spinning. Here’s the report

鈥� Robin Lake (@RbnLake)

Read the full 2015 Report of the Independent Financial Review Panel .

For more about how L.A. Unified could pay for the contract, read our latest article:

And here are some of our previous articles on the district’s finances:

First Budget Update Since Los Angeles Approved Its Teachers Contract Shows It Needs New Funding to Stay Solvent in 2 Years

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.