The Los Angeles Unified School District is weighing layoffs that could reshape classrooms across the nation鈥檚 second-largest school district. 

The district鈥檚 board at next week鈥檚 meeting is expected to decide whether to cut jobs, as it faces a projected $191 million deficit in the 2027-28 school year if it keeps spending at its current pace. The deficits in LAUSD and other districts are driven largely by the loss of Covid relief funds, declining enrollment and rising costs.

Meanwhile, labor unions throughout the state are pushing many districts for pay raises and other changes, such as increased health care contributions in their next contracts.

鈥淲here you need to cut then is the classroom,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause you need fewer classrooms, you need fewer teachers, fewer aides, fewer of folks that are at the sites directly serving kids.鈥�

Los Angeles Unified is not alone among California鈥檚 school districts facing financial pressures. The  must close a deficit or face state receivership.  plans to implement job cuts to address its budget shortfall. 

鈥淟arge and small districts, urban, suburban and rural alike, are experiencing similar constraints,鈥� reads an open  from superintendents of eight California districts, demanding the state restructure the way it funds schools. 鈥淲hen nearly every school system in California is facing the same challenges, it is clear that the issue is not isolated decision-making, but the sustainability of the funding model itself.鈥� 

The superintendents who sent the letter, including LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, cited ongoing challenges, such as enrollment declines.

LAUSD鈥檚 enrollment declined more than 3% to 389,000, down from roughly 402,500 between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years. That outpaced both the state and country, according to a at January鈥檚 Committee of the Whole meeting. 

About 90% of LAUSD鈥檚 budget is spent on personnel. Fine said that with so much of the money being spent on staffing, it would be nearly impossible to balance the budget on the remaining funds. 

鈥淥ur priority will be to protect students, protect programs, protect schools, and, to the extent possible, protect workforce,鈥� Carvalho said at a Roundtable discussion with reporters in late January. 鈥淎nd within that priority, the protection of workforce begins with school sites. That is the balance that we want to establish, leading to the necessary fiscal solvency that we must continue to observe.鈥� 

If LAUSD moves forward with job cuts, laid-off employees would be notified by March 15, per state law.

Weighing in the potential cuts, LAUSD is expecting a $191 million deficit for the 2027-28 academic year, though several factors are at play, including the final governor鈥檚 budget. The district also said it plans to move forward with roughly $150 million in reductions to its central office. 

The current fiscal challenges come after two years of diminishing reserves to help replenish a multi-billion-dollar deficit. While the district teacher鈥檚 union has pointed to $5 billion in reserves as of July, LAUSD is expecting to burn through it in three years. 

鈥淭he danger in just trimming 5% here, 10% there is it leaves you sometimes with incomplete programs,鈥� Fine said. 鈥淚t may leave you with the inability to actually turn things into practice.鈥� 

The school board was originally expected to vote on the layoffs Tuesday, but postponed its regular meeting to Feb. 17 to allow for better preparation and engagement. The meeting鈥檚 comes after LAUSD unions issued a  asking that the vote be delayed and presented instead at a stand-alone meeting. 

Ongoing labor actions 

The discussion of layoffs comes as United Teachers Los Angeles, or UTLA, the union representing roughly 35,000 teachers,  a strike if a labor agreement isn鈥檛 reached. Meanwhile, SEIU Local 99, which represents roughly 30,000 workers, including special education assistants, cafeteria workers and custodians, is in the midst of a strike authorization vote. 

Before mediation began with UTLA in January, LAUSD said its bargaining proposals would cost $4 billion over a three-year contract, while SEIU Local 99鈥檚 would cost $3 billion through 2027-2028. 

LAUSD鈥檚 most recent  to SEIU Local 99 would increase wages by 13% over the next three years 鈥� starting with a 10% increase this year. Before mediation, the district offered UTLA a 4.5% raise and 1% bonus over two years. 

UTLA says that isn鈥檛 enough. With Los Angeles鈥� high cost of living, teachers are struggling financially, the union says. A showed that money is particularly important for Gen Z Black and Latino teachers in the district; a quarter of whom said they would leave their careers in education in search of a higher-paying job.

鈥淚鈥檓 a third-year teacher. I have a master鈥檚 degree from UCLA, which is the premier education school in the country, and I鈥檓 still living paycheck to paycheck. And I鈥檓 still unable to even think about one day owning a home,鈥� said Jon Paul Arciniega, a 29-year-old social studies teacher at Edward R. Roybal Learning Center in the Westlake area.  

鈥淚 still live at home,鈥� Arciniega said. 鈥淎nd if I want to think about things like getting my own place, starting a family, buying a home, right now, all of that seems untenable.鈥� 

Uncertainty ahead 

Sandy Meredith, a psychiatric social worker covering 42 district schools, said she hopes a strike won鈥檛 be necessary, both because of the financial strain it would place on colleagues like Arciniega and because schools play a critical role in students鈥� daily safety. 

But at the same time, she said they鈥檙e struggling to support students 鈥� 20% of whom require mental health services 鈥� without the district providing the support and wages they see as critical to their success. She expressed frustration with the size of the district鈥檚 reserves, particularly when teachers and staff like her pay out of pocket to provide basic resources, such as toilet paper, for students. 

鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 on an airplane,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd I鈥檝e been told 鈥業鈥檓 sorry, but we can鈥檛 give you a mask to put on first. But go ahead and take care of the child.鈥� 鈥� 

Strikes are nothing new in Los Angeles Unified. UTLA last went on strike in 2019, leading to a historic  with 6% pay raises, smaller class sizes and investments in community schools. Four years later, in 2023, SEIU Local 99 went on strike, which resulted in a 30% wage increase. 

But teachers and staff say this year comes with much higher stakes. 

Members of UTLA鈥檚 leadership say educators and school staff play a bigger role beyond the school walls.  

鈥淲e鈥檙e dealing with families鈥� anxieties. Are they not being able to come to school because of their housing insecurity? Is there trauma with this addition of the ICE raids? There鈥檚 concerns about safety,鈥� said Margaret Wirth, a pupil services and attendance counselor who supports all of LAUSD鈥檚 Region South. 鈥淚s my child safe? For the child, is my parent safe? There鈥檚 a lot of different factors that make everything more heightened.鈥�

Pupil service and attendance counselors like Wirth help reduce chronic absenteeism. She said layoffs will mean her caseloads will increase. 

But at the same time, Fine said if a district is going to move forward with layoffs, the earlier, the better.  

鈥淭he earlier you cut, the better off you are, and you鈥檙e also not dangling this black cloud over your staff and the community,鈥� Fine said. 鈥淵ou get the discussion done, you forecast your gap right, and you make a decision on how to close that gap all at once, and everybody knows what the plan is.鈥� 

This was originally published on .

New York City schools with fewer students than projected will not have to give back money midyear, Education Department officials announced Monday, as the public school system saw its biggest enrollment drop in four years.

Enrollment in the city鈥檚 K-12 and preschool programs fell by about 22,000, or 2.4%, compared to last year, according to the Education Department鈥檚 preliminary numbers. A total of 884,400 students were enrolled in the city鈥檚 traditional public schools as of Oct. 31, according to the figures.

Nearly two-thirds of the city鈥檚 roughly 1,600 schools had fewer students than projected, officials said. In past years, those schools would have had to pay back a total of more than $250 million to the city. But those funds will now stay with schools.

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鈥淎s we navigate enrollment fluctuations and uncertainty around federal funding, we鈥檙e committed to providing stability and ensuring every school has the resources it needs,鈥� schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said in a statement.

The remaining third of schools whose enrollment was higher than projected will receive extra money to account for the additional students, officials said, but didn鈥檛 say how much that will cost.

In some ways, Mayor Eric Adams鈥� parting gift to schools could become a headache for the next mayor, who will have to confront the costly but popular initiative.

City officials did not immediately offer an explanation for the enrollment drop, but it鈥檚 likely that changing immigration patterns played a role. Over the three school years prior to this one, city schools absorbed an influx of roughly 50,000 migrant students.

That surge helped offset declining enrollment, keeping the city鈥檚 student numbers relatively flat between 2022 and 2024. But immigration into the and has ground to a halt under President Donald Trump鈥檚 enforcement efforts. Adams has closed many of the emergency shelters the city opened to house migrants.

Several educators at schools with large immigrant populations have noticed sharp enrollment declines this year, driven by existing students leaving and fewer new ones showing up.

鈥淲e definitely have seen a decline this year in our schools that serve newcomers,鈥� said John Sullivan, the superintendent overseeing transfer schools geared toward older high school students, at a hearing last week with the City Council.

Manhattan鈥檚 Liberty High School Academy for Newcomers is down about 200 students this year compared to its average enrollment in recent years, Sullivan said. More students learning English are dropping out of school early to take jobs, he said.

ELLIS Prep, another high school in the Bronx geared toward older newcomers, has , Principal Norma Vega said. The school is down about 30 students from last year and roughly 20 students under its projection for this year. That meant Vega would have had to pay back roughly $333,000 if the city had followed through with the midyear clawback.

Keeping that money will allow her to continue funding field trips, computers for students, and extra tutoring, she said.

Vega already missed the deadline for this school year to cut teachers, which means she would have started next school year with a deficit and likely would have lost her English as a New Language coordinator, one of her newest hires.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a blessing鈥� to not have to pay back the funds midyear, Vega said.

Before the pandemic, schools typically had to give money back to the city during the middle of the school year if they enrolled fewer students than projected. (Those that enrolled more students would get extra funds midyear.)

The policy to keep school budgets afloat despite enrollment, known as being 鈥渉eld harmless,鈥� was initially enacted during the pandemic when many schools saw their rosters dwindle but had mounting needs to support students academically and emotionally.

Enrollment citywide has been on the decline for a decade, but went into freefall during the pandemic, . This year鈥檚 enrollment decline is the largest since the 2021-22 school year, when enrollment fell by around 36,000 students, or 3.8%, from the previous year.

The city halted the hold harmless only to

Last school year, the decision not to claw back school budgets midyear meant schools hung onto $157 million they would have otherwise had to give back. City officials to ensure that no schools started out this school year with less funding than they had at the start of last school year.

This year鈥檚 total is far larger, given the steeper enrollment decline.

Emily Paige, the principal of Urban Assembly Unison, a small Brooklyn middle school, said she was on the hook for roughly $100,000 because of enrollment losses 鈥� enough to cover an entire teacher salary.

While the hold harmless policy is widely popular among school staff and families, it can be an unsustainable practice, some observers say, artificially inflating schools鈥� budgets and creating even more difficult financial decisions down the road as the city confronts increasingly expensive small schools.

The union representing principals, the Council for School Administrators, or CSA, claimed the move as a victory for its members, saying in an email to principals on Sunday its 鈥渢op priority鈥� this year has been ensuring the city kept its promise to hold schools harmless.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at .

Despite the summer heat, Toyia Diab came out to the Summer on the Block at Pulaski Elementary-Middle School to learn what it had to offer the four grandchildren she had in tow.

The family made their way to about a dozen tables snaking around the lawn on the side of the school. Diab listened to staff from the Detroit school district detail all of its resources over the pulsing base of loud music.

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Diab鈥檚 family was one of many the Detroit Public Schools Community District courted this summer as part of its efforts to retain families and boost enrollment. With the loss of more than 92,000 students in the last 20 years, district officials devote some of the summer break each year to getting word out about what the city鈥檚 schools have to offer.

This year, the district ramped up efforts. It sent 40 people to canvas communities and held 19 events to create excitement about the start of school 鈥� nearly double that of previous years. It also started new initiatives, such as putting up billboards around the city. In all, the school system budgeted around this year. School starts Aug. 25.

Though the district has 鈥渄one a fairly good job鈥� of recruiting new students in previous years, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti told school board members at a that the main challenge is keeping them.

As a result, this year the school system also has focused on reenrollment rates. Those numbers have become a metric the district uses to 鈥渉old schools accountable,鈥� Vitti said, though he didn鈥檛 share how many students the district typically loses during the school year.

鈥淲e have emphasized 鈥� the need to improve customer service and parent engagement, so that parents feel more welcome,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd we fight harder to keep students at the schools that they鈥檙e at, rather than having more of an attitude of, 鈥榃ell, if you don鈥檛 like it here, then you can find another school.鈥欌��

Sharlonda Buckman, assistant superintendent of family and community engagement, told Chalkbeat the district has seen a lot of 鈥済ood signs鈥� for this school year because of the number of people her office reached in the summer.

鈥淚t鈥檚 noticeable for me, and I鈥檝e been at this for a long time,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l see what that boils down to, in terms of enrollment.鈥�

This year, Buckman said nearly 5,000 people went to the Summer on the Block events, parties held at schools that both serve as a vehicle to sell families on sending their kids to the district and connect them with free resources.

鈥淎s a parent, you have to bring your kids to school every day in order to get the education that they need,鈥� Diab said at the Pulaski back-to-school event. 鈥淏ut then you鈥檒l find some schools, they just don鈥檛 have enough resources to keep them interested to come to school, to stay in school.鈥�

All of the district鈥檚 summer efforts produced 532 leads on parents interested in enrolling their kids by mid-August. Around 80 of those students completed enrollment, according to the district.

Though initial enrollment numbers are up, officials say, the full impact of the district鈥檚 efforts won鈥檛 be known until the end of the 2025-26 school year.

Myriad factors have affected enrollment in DPSCD

Boosting student numbers has been among the district鈥檚 top priorities for years.

The numbers of students attending schools are crucial for districts in Michigan, where school funding is tied to enrollment.

Now that and the federal government has signaled , districts are bracing to rely more on local money.

A number of factors affected the district鈥檚 enrollment over the years, including , lower birthrates, the state鈥檚 , and . The district also faces competition from Detroit , where around .

High student mobility rates, or the rate at which kids move to different homes, contribute to the district鈥檚 difficulty in keeping children enrolled. rates also have a .

Enrollment in the district was more than . Last year, it was 49,000.

When DPSCD was created and the school system began being phased out of emergency management in the 2017-18 school year, enrollment shot up to more than 50,800 from 45,700 during the 2016-17 school year.

The district has struggled to move the needle much since, especially after drops during pandemic-era school closures and .

At the beginning of this month, there were 50,890 students enrolled in the district, Vitti said at the board meeting.

鈥淲e have about 1,400 more students than we did at the end of the year enrolled in DPSCD as of today, and about 500 more as compared to the first day of school,鈥� he said, adding that 鈥� 鈥渆nrollment is trending in a positive direction.鈥�

Early enrollment numbers for the district are usually higher than official headcounts made in October. The number of students recorded on is used by the state to calculate funding for districts.

Making the case for DPSCD face-to-face

Three days before the Summer on the Block at Pulaski, more than 20 people squeezed into a sun-filled classroom at the Detroit School of Arts.

The group was contracted by the district to canvas homes in areas where attendance is low compared to the number of school-aged children living there.

This summer, the district sent canvassers to more than 78,000 homes to inform families about its schools and programs.

The group at the School of Arts was gathered to get their assignments for the day. They waited to pick up hand-out materials, including fliers listing Summer on the Block dates and pamphlets highlighting programs at application schools.

To get the energy up in the classroom before they headed out, the canvassers stood up to form a circle. Buckman, the assistant superintendent, asked them to share what they heard door-knocking.

鈥淲e鈥檙e getting a good response in terms of some of those students coming back to the district,鈥� said one woman.

Others expressed residents鈥� hesitations to open their doors or to give their contact information for the district to follow up with them.

Laura Gomez, who has been canvassing for three years, said through a translator that this summer has been different in southwest Detroit, which is home to many immigrant and newcomer families.

People in the neighborhood say they have seen more community members in recent months, including .

鈥淭here are some people that are really happy we鈥檙e going out to the houses because that way they don鈥檛 have to leave their home because they don鈥檛 feel safe,鈥� she said.

After the canvassers broke out into teams, they drove to the areas they were assigned to for the day.

Tanya Shelton and her son, David, arrived in the Crary St. Mary鈥檚 neighborhood in the northwest corner of the city.

鈥淲e鈥檒l ask them what school district are they in, and if they are interested in DPSCD, we give some information on it,鈥� she said as she made her way down a long block adjacent to the Southfield Freeway.

In her conversations with families, Shelton said the district鈥檚 free school lunches piqued their interest. Other canvassers said parents were interested in learning more about the academic interventionists available to students.

Most of the doors Shelton knocked on that day, though, went unanswered. She left the district鈥檚 literature at dozens of houses.

Families weigh programming, academics, and transportation in selecting schools

At Pulaski鈥檚 Summer on the Block Alexa Franco-Garcia saw more students signing up to attend the school than she has in past years.

鈥淩ight now, I have three enrollment packets in my hand, so that means they鈥檝e completed enrollment,鈥� she said during a break from talking with families.

Another three parents left their contact information and said they would return the paperwork the next day.

Considering it was about 30 minutes into the event, that was a strong number, said Franco-Garcia, who works in the Office of Family and Community Engagement.

In her time working in the district, Franco-Garcia has learned what kinds of questions families ask: They want to know about the curriculum, extracurricular activities, and class sizes. They wonder whether their children will be supported in special education and if they will get a bus ride to school.

Most of the sign-ups at the Pulaski event were for kindergartners who were new to the district, Franco-Garcia said.

Enrolling early learners is one of the districts鈥� .

There were 457 students enrolled in prekindergarten by the beginning of August, according to the district, up about 10 compared to the same time last year.

Diab, the grandmother, brought four kids ages 5 to 12 out to learn more about the school. They heard about the district鈥檚 community health hubs, parent academy, and mental health resources.

Teachers from the school gathered around a welcome table ready to answer questions as Principal Tyra R. Smith-Bell floated around talking with parents.

The fresh produce boxes, ice cream truck, free books, and kids鈥� activities also enticed more than 350 people to come 鈥� many more than in previous years, Buckman said.

Linn Flake was the first second-grader of the day to enroll at Pulaski, said Franco-Garcia. It would be his first experience at a neighborhood school, she added.

His mom, Roxanne Flake, chose DPSCD over the charter school Linn went to last year.

鈥淚 just wanted a different start,鈥� she said.

The charter school didn鈥檛 provide transportation, said Flake, which was an inconvenience because she doesn鈥檛 currently have a car. But the Detroit school district offered bus service for Linn to Pulaski, the mother said.

Diab said she had more research to do before her family committed to Pulaski.

鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna come here and we鈥檙e gonna figure everything out 鈥� ask questions, all of that stuff, and then if it鈥檚 the right fit for them, then we鈥檙e gonna put them in,鈥� she said.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at .

The nation鈥檚 second-largest school district now enrolls 408,083 students, according to . In the 2023-24 school year, LAUSD enrolled 419,749 kids; the year before that, 429,349.

鈥淚’m kind of fearing talking about it, because people are just going to go berserk,鈥� said LA Unified Board President Scott Schmerelson of decisions to close schools. 

Schmerelson also insisted he has not given up on finding ways to increase district enrollment with programs that would attract new families to LAUSD schools. 

But, he said, enrollment has fallen so low that many of the district鈥檚 schools can鈥檛 provide the services students require.

To preserve the quality of instruction, Schmerelson said, some of the district鈥檚 785 public schools may soon need to be combined or closed. 

鈥淲e’re just getting worse and worse as far as enrollment goes, and average daily attendance,鈥� said Schmerelson. 鈥淓very time a kid comes to school, we’re paid for that day. And when they don’t show up, we’re not paid for that day.鈥�  

LAUSD has been losing students since it peaked in size at 746,831 in 2002. District officials have talked about tackling the enrollment drop for almost as long. Losses accelerated during the pandemic and then slowed, but have since gone up again.  

LAUSD has made a number of efforts to attract new students, mainly based around the idea of offering attractive schooling choices to local families, a district spokesman said. The enrollment declines this year were smaller than expected, according to the spokesman. 

But shrinking schools are bad for students. 

Like many U.S. public school districts, LA Unified is funded on a per-pupil basis. So when the district loses students, it loses income.

Schools with too few students don鈥檛 receive the funding to offer extracurricular activities and a variety of enriching classes. They retain fixed staffing and facilities costs, so operations become more expensive on a per-pupil basis, as enrollment shrinks.

Schmerelson, a veteran LAUSD educator and administrator who of the district鈥檚 school board last year, believes the district鈥檚 enrollment crisis is its most pressing problem and has vowed to tackle the issue in his last term.

He said he expects the board to soon begin discussing the sticky issue of closing or combining under-enrolled schools. Those that become too small, he said, with fewer than 100 students, aren鈥檛 viable from a cost or programming standpoint.

In a statement, a Los Angeles Unified spokesman said that there are three schools in the district with fewer than 100 students. The spokesman said the district will not be combining or closing schools this year.

Decisions to close schools are often controversial with the families they serve and the staff they employ. Closing a school is seen as a last resort in many districts, not only because it represents the loss of an asset, but also a loss to the community.   

Enrollment decline is a nationwide problem. School closures in response to such declines have recently prompted pushback in and San Antonio.

In Inglewood, an independent school district in Los Angeles County, plans to close schools have .   

But in Los Angeles, where enrollment has been declining for more than 20 years, many fear closing schools is inevitable.

Conditions such as falling birth rates and rising housing prices have forced LA鈥檚 enrollments down for years, and those forces can鈥檛 be stopped without seismic changes to economy and demography, said Pedro Noguera, dean of USC’s Rossier School of Education. In addition, independently operated charter schools have enrolled thousands of LA students.  

In other words, get used to it. And it鈥檚 not just in LA. Enrollments are falling in districts around the country, thanks to the same forces that are driving down enrollment in LASUD, Noguera said.

鈥淭his is the future,鈥� said Noguera. 鈥淒eclining birth rates, plus families with children who can’t afford to live in the city.鈥�

LAUSD has no choice but to figure out how to consolidate schools, said Noguera. But, if officials are strategic, he said, they should see it 鈥渘ot simply as a loss of a school, but as an opportunity to create schools that are better equipped to serve the community.鈥�

Any changes to schools in LAUSD would be considered by the board with Superintendent Aberto Carvalho, who in the last school year was possible.

Schmerelson said he expects the board will soon discuss combining schools due to falling enrollments, while also working on new solutions to attract new students.   

Former , who consults with districts and labor groups on policy and operations, said the LA Unified鈥檚 focus on attendance in the years since the pandemic has been laudable, but now it needs to shift its attention to enrollment.  

Tokofsky said LAUSD needs to be fighting enrollment declines with more aggressive plans to attract families, and maximize resources in shrinking schools.

Decisions to close schools are fraught with hazards, he warned.

鈥淭his requires urban planners and big thinkers,鈥� said Tokofsky. 鈥淥therwise, the whole school board will get recalled.鈥�

Scott Schmerelson, who has worked in the LA Unified School District for nearly four decades and has served on the board since 2015, was  by his board colleagues on Dec. 10.  

As board president, he succeeded , who is retiring.

A former LAUSD teacher, principal and administrator, Schmerelson assumed leadership of the board just before he begins his third and final term representing District 3, which covers parts of LA鈥檚 San Fernando Valley region.

In a phone interview, Schmerelson said he鈥檇 focus the board鈥檚 attention on fighting falling student enrollment in the remainder of the academic year, as pre-pandemic declines accelerated into long-term losses that may eventually force school closures.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to constantly, constantly talk about enrollment,鈥� Schmerelson said. 鈥淔or the school district to remain viable, we have to have students.鈥�

Schmerelson said he hoped LAUSD鈥檚 improving test scores would help attract students who may have left the district for private schools or home instruction.

He said as board president he鈥檒l also focus on issues including LAUSD鈥檚  and rising .  

It鈥檚 a tall order. But with nearly 40 years working in the district and close to a decade on the school board, Schmerelson believes he has the backing of his community.

As president, Schmerelson will help set the direction of the board鈥檚 policymaking and manage its operations. The LAUSD鈥檚 seven-member board sets the district鈥檚 policy, controls its budget and hires the superintendent.

This fall Schmerelson overcame an aggressive campaign from opponent Dan Chang, a math teacher at James Madison Middle School in North Hollywood, who focused much of his election messaging on the need to tame waste and corruption in the school district.

Chang and his backers, including the state charter school association鈥檚 political arm, spent more than $5.6 million promoting his campaign. 厂肠丑尘别谤别濒蝉辞苍鈥檚 backers, including the local teacher union, spent about $2.5 million, .

In the end, Chang landed behind Schmerelson with 48% of the vote, while Schmerelson got 52%.

Schmerelson brought up the cost of the race in remarks he made after he was sworn in as president at LAUSD headquarters last month.  

鈥淩eally, it is our whole community that won,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause we learned to work together against the power of money. And when I say money, I mean $5 million.鈥�  

The contest between the two men had the potential to tilt the district鈥檚 school board away from a majority of union-backed members, and impact its handling of several   facing LAUSD, including restrictions on charter schools鈥� use of buildings, which Chang said he鈥檇 move to reverse if elected. 

 victory is part of a successful election season for many teachers  in Los Angeles 鈥� and Schmerelson has aligned himself with local unions on policies limiting space and resources for charter schools.

But in an interview Schmerelson said he supports the continued operation of high-quality charter schools in the district.

鈥淚 am going to support those charter schools that are doing an excellent job of educating the kids,鈥� said Schmerelson.

鈥淚 want to make sure that the charter schools that we have, are viable and working well,鈥� he added.

put forth a list of close to 500 strained schools as a 鈥渨ake up call鈥� for districts to plan interventions such as family engagement, high dosage tutoring and address specific community concerns before they 鈥渇ind themselves pushed against a wall鈥� and forced to close schools, said author Sofoklis Goulas, a fellow with the Brookings Institution who built on his prior enrollment research in this latest study with Fordham. 

The study cautioned districts against using the list as a strict guide or framing it as a 鈥渂ad schools list,鈥� rather, as a starting point for interventions and discussions.

School closures are often and can lead to distrust in the system, particularly when plans target campuses, most often elementary schools, with predominantly Black and brown children.

The study is the first to correlate school performance with enrollment declines, revealing the drops are far from random: Among schools identified as chronically underperforming by their states, those in high-poverty, urban areas, and charter schools lost the highest proportions of students, those 鈥済rappling with systemic challenges and resource constraints,鈥� the report stated. 

Goulas鈥檚 latest findings suggest family dissatisfaction with schools is outpacing other known drivers such as . 

鈥淔amilies are essentially rejecting schools that are not serving them well,鈥� Goulas told 蜜桃影视, adding solutions won鈥檛 look the same across all districts 鈥� some will be forced to close schools while others may not. He urged leaders to address, 鈥渢he core problem, which is the disengagement, the sentiment of dissatisfaction from traditional public schools.鈥�

California and New York, hosting the nation鈥檚 largest school systems by population, both have about 40 schools on the list of 500. Overall, roughly 5,100 of the nation鈥檚 98,000 schools, or one in 12, lost substantial numbers of students. 

Five are underperforming Los Angeles Unified schools which have lost between 22 and 55% of their enrollment as of 2022-23. Pio Pico Middle School, for instance, lost 261 students since 2019, more than the 212 who remain enrolled.聽

Alongside Illinois and New York, California experienced one of the largest heading into 2023. Los Angeles Unified, the second largest district in the country, has established a new office to better support schools鈥� recruitment and retention. 

But, as spokesperson for LAUSD told 蜜桃影视 by email, 鈥渢here are stark realities confronting Los Angeles Unified that transcend what a school system can address such as cost of living, job prospects and statewide economic challenges that are forcing families to leave the city and state.鈥� 

鈥淥ur students represent some of the most fragile in the city and are particularly impacted by financial pressures鈥� School closures or consolidations are a measure of last resort which have little to do with finances and more with the type of offerings schools are able to provide.鈥�

In Washington, a multimillion dollar has been credited with bringing back 2,000 kids. Given the financial strain the declines are already placing on districts across the country, some like and have already announced or enacted closure plans. 

Researchers relied on a federal guideline to determine which schools are low performing, using states鈥� required Comprehensive Support and Improvement schools lists, those with the lowest performance and graduation rates. They caution this metric is not completely reliable, given the variation from state to state, with some updating every year while others only every three years. The CSI lists don鈥檛 often account for year-to-year academic growth either, which may be strong and indicate a thriving school community. 

Researchers also did not determine whether students attending these schools have nearby high-quality alternatives in the event their schools close. 

鈥淭his is an exposition of the situation鈥� There’s no horizontal solution across the board that we need,鈥� said Goulas. 鈥淒istrict superintendents need to find the solution that meets the needs of their community,鈥� he said, adding student demographics, year-to-year growth, transportation and strength of alternatives are some measures that cannot get lost in closure conversations. 

, children whose schools close .  At the same time, when students are moved into larger schools, it means more financial resources, and with them, more extracurriculars or specialty course offerings. 

The best of the worst case scenario is to be honest with families about consolidations or closures and provide 5- and 10-year plans, former Chicago schools chief told 蜜桃影视 earlier this year.

鈥淚 hope that the research that people like me provide can help the districts plan ahead,鈥� Goulas said, 鈥渂ecause the less runway you have to make a plan and be prepared, the harsher the decisions you end up making.鈥�

How did the pandemic change community colleges and technical colleges?

A bill requiring public schools to raise teacher pay with no promise of new state funding passed a legislative committee Wednesday in Pierre.

Nobody testified against , but several lobbyists representing the education community called it a work in progress.

鈥淚t is not a perfect bill, but a compromise that will hopefully help us attract new teachers and retain the current, experienced teachers, and bring quality education to the students in the state of South Dakota,鈥� said Dianna Miller, a lobbyist for the Large School Group.

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The legislation would set a statewide minimum teacher salary of $45,000, beginning July 1, 2026. That minimum standard would increase each year by a percentage equal to the annual increase in state education funding approved by the Legislature and governor.

The bill would also require schools to raise their average teacher compensation 鈥� including pay and benefits 鈥� by percentages equal to annual increases in state funding. That requirement would begin with the 2025 fiscal year.

Gov. Kristi Noem, for not matching teacher pay increases with state aid increases, a 4% increase in education funding for the next state budget.

School districts that fail to meet the bill鈥檚 requirements could suffer a $500-per-teacher deduction in state education funding. But they could also request a waiver and work with the state School Finance Accountability Board to come into compliance.

Because the bill depends on future legislative decisions to increase state funding, a lobbyist for schools said it will spread the responsibility for teacher salaries beyond local school boards. Schools rely not only on state funding, but also on federal funding and local property tax revenue.

鈥淟et鈥檚 make no mistake: This does create some shared responsibility now with the Legislature, because as we move forward, it鈥檚 going to be the responsibility of the Legislature to help fund education,鈥� said Mitch Richter, lobbyist for the South Dakota United Schools Association.

Richter said some small, rural schools with stagnant or declining enrollment might be unable to meet the bill鈥檚 requirements. State funding for individual schools is tied to enrollment, so schools with declining enrollment may not receive the full benefit of annual increases in state aid. He said some of those rural schools might be forced to consolidate.

鈥淲e鈥檒l have to come up with a plan for that, because those districts are going to need some help,鈥� Richter said.

Miller said the bill could also cause difficulties for larger schools with declining enrollment, possibly causing them to use reserve funds to raise teacher pay.

According to the National Education Association, South Dakota ranks (out of 51, due to the inclusion of Washington, D.C.).

That鈥檚 despite the passage of a half-percentage-point increase in the state sales tax rate to raise teacher salaries. The legislation sent an infusion of money to schools that pushed South Dakota up a few places in national teacher pay rankings, but the state has slipped in the rankings since then. Last year, legislators and Gov. Noem from 4.5% to 4.2%.

Joe Graves, head of the state Department of Education, said this year鈥檚 bill is a continuation of the work that started in 2016. He called the bill a 鈥渞ock solid step forward in ensuring enhanced compensation for our state鈥檚 teachers.鈥�

Graves said the bill includes some provisions to help schools meet the requirements. For example, a provision that was amended into the bill Wednesday would allow school boards to roll some of their excess average compensation forward to future years.

鈥淒istricts, in other words, can exceed one year鈥檚 increase, in order to have already made progress on future increases,鈥� Graves said.

The House Education Committee voted to send the bill to the House of Representatives. Rep. Phil Jensen, R-Rapid City, and Rep. Stephanie Sauder, R-Bryant, cast the two no votes.

Jensen referenced Rapid City school officials鈥� inability to win voter approval of bond financing for construction projects, which has made it difficult for the district to maintain its facilities.

鈥淚鈥檓 afraid that this would just be disastrous for the Rapid City schools along with all the smaller schools,鈥� Jensen said.

Sauder said the legislation would cause some schools to eliminate teaching positions and combine classrooms.

鈥淚t just doesn鈥檛 iron out the wrinkles that need to be taken care of before we move forward,鈥� she said.

EDITOR鈥橲 NOTE: This story has been altered since its original publication with language to clarify the effect of 2016 legislation on teacher pay.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com. Follow South Dakota Searchlight on and .

Starting next year, the number of high school graduates will begin to in Mississippi. That’s the looming reality a joint hearing of the House and Senate Colleges and Universities committees zeroed in on Wednesday.

In Mississippi, this trend, called the 鈥渆nrollment cliff,鈥� will force the largely tuition-dependent colleges and universities to compete for a shrinking pool of students. Regional institutions like Delta State University, Mississippi University for Women and Mississippi Valley State University, all of which are already struggling with enrollment, will be especially hurt.

The state is poised to see the second-worst decline of high school graduation rates in the Southern U.S. by 2027 after Virginia, according to data presented by Noel Wilkin, the University of Mississippi鈥檚 provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.

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The committee wanted to know: What is the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, the governing body for Mississippi鈥檚 eight public universities, doing about this?

鈥淲hen can we expect a report to detail those recommendations and strategies for the future,鈥� Sen. Scott DeLano, R-Biloxi vice chair of the Senate committee, asked Al Rankins, the IHL commissioner.

鈥淲henever you鈥檇 like to see a report,鈥� Rankins responded. IHL has been talking about the enrollment cliff for years, he added, and has a working group focused on the regional college鈥檚 unique needs.

Kell Smith, the director of the Mississippi Community College Board, which operates differently from IHL, attended the hearing but did not present. He said MCCB doesn鈥檛 have a strategic plan for the enrollment cliff but some of the individual community colleges might.

鈥淰ery simply 鈥� how can we fix the problem to prepare for 15 years from now?鈥� Rep. Donnie Scoggin, R-Ellisville the House chair, asked Wilkin.

There are few simple answers. The enrollment cliff is unavoidable, the product of declining birth rates that will be exacerbated by out-migration from Mississippi and deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic, John Green, a Mississippi State University professor, told the committee.

But the changing economics of higher education is largely the years ago. In Mississippi, the four-year public universities are all more dependent on tuition than they are state appropriations.

Rankins presented a chart showing that in 2000, state appropriations supported nearly 60% of the universities operating budgets, while tuition was 26%. In fiscal year 2023, that ratio had basically flipped, with tuition supporting 64% of operating budgets.

This raises the question: If Mississippi鈥檚 colleges and universities are increasingly reliant on student tuition, not taxpayer dollars, are they still a public service?

It鈥檚 complicated, said Rep. Lance Varner, a member of the House committee, whose 16-year-old daughter has started getting recruitment letters from out-of-state colleges hoping to attract her away from Mississippi.

鈥淚f you own a business, your goal is to try to get people to come to your business,鈥� he said.

At the same time that he thinks higher education is a public good, Varner, R-Florence, said he bets the universities wish they could be even less dependent on state appropriations.

鈥淓very one of those colleges is working hard to make sure they鈥檙e self-sufficient,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want to depend on the Legislature.鈥�

At the University of Mississippi, tuition and fees now represent 78% of its total operating budget, according to IHL鈥檚 presentation, the highest of any public university.

A huge driver of that is the number of out-of-state students, who pay nearly three times more for tuition than Mississippi residents, now make up half the university鈥檚 total population of more than $21,000, Wilkin told the committee. This is one way Ole Miss is responding to the enrollment cliff, which it started preparing for in 2017.

鈥淲e have become a destination state for higher education,鈥� Wilkin said.

University of Mississippi netted $62 million in tuition from in-state students in fiscal year 2023 鈥� but brought in $188 million from non-resident students. It鈥檚 a crucial revenue source that, Wilkin said, allows Ole Miss to keep its costs down for in-state students.

鈥淚f I were to take all the revenue that comes from in-state students and all the state appropriations we get and compare that to what it costs us to educate those students, we鈥檙e still left with a multimillion-dollar hole,鈥� Wilkin said.

Wilkin also discussed the 鈥渋ntangible鈥� aspect of higher education that shapes if, why and where students attend college, especially in light of the fact high school graduates are becoming more diverse.

鈥淎ll of us see there have been questions raised about the value of a higher education degree today,鈥� he said.

By 2036, white students are projected to comprise 43% of high school graduates compared to 51% today. Black students will increase from 25% to 28%.

Smith, the MCCB director, said after the meeting that community colleges need to be focusing more on students who don鈥檛 have a high school diploma.

鈥淲e need to go after those students irregardless of what the enrollment cliff looks like,鈥� he said.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

After 8-year-old Rowan had his third surgery last year, half of his class at Olympia鈥檚 Boston Harbor Elementary School came by to drop off cards and offer support. His parents say the school鈥檚 tight-knit community has been a 鈥渨arm hug鈥� to Rowan as he deals with fibular hemimelia, a congenital condition affecting his mobility.

So when Olympia School District that Boston Harbor might be closing, Rowan and his family felt blindsided. (The Standard is only using Rowan鈥檚 first name due to his parents鈥� concerns about privacy.)

鈥淚 like my friends at my school,鈥� Rowan said. 鈥淚f they鈥檙e at different schools, then I can鈥檛 play with my friends.鈥�

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Rowan鈥檚 parents are part of OSD For All, a group of parents and community members who are trying to prevent Boston Harbor Elementary鈥檚 closure.

Across the state, similar efforts are taking place to keep schools from closing as student enrollment drops and, as a result, district budgets shrink. In Washington, state funding is tied directly to how many students are enrolled in public schools.

The tradeoffs involved are complex. State officials don鈥檛 seem eager to prop up schools with declining enrollment. And education policy experts believe it鈥檚 often better to close one school than to spread resources thin across too many.

But to families like Rowan鈥檚, the long-term cost of closing a school is about more than just money and, in their view, just isn鈥檛 worth it.

鈥淭here are going to be so many kids who get lost in the shuffle,鈥� said Angela Vigil, Rowan鈥檚 mom.

鈥楾hey don鈥檛 live there鈥�

Vigil said her family moved out of Seattle to send Rowan to Boston Harbor Elementary.

Erin Mann, a preschool teacher whose students often go on to Boston Harbor, said generations within families have gone to Boston Harbor Elementary and that many have a sense of pride connected to the school.

The next closest school within the district is Roosevelt Elementary School, about a 12-minute drive from Boston Harbor. But Mann said Roosevelt is in a different community and that means that students and parents shifted there won鈥檛 be as invested in the school.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 live there. They don鈥檛 want their kids to be going there,鈥� Mann said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of connection with neighborhood schools in this country. There鈥檚 a deep history with that,鈥� Honig said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a center of community for a lot of people.鈥�

School closures usually happen in lower-income, more diverse areas, making the relatively affluent Boston Harbor an outlier, said Marguerite Roza, who heads Georgetown University鈥檚 Edunomics Lab, a research center focused on education finance.

of recent school closures. In Washington, Bellevue presented the possibility of closing three elementary schools last year, eventually consolidating two of them. The seven schools considered for closure were some of the most diverse in the district,

State funding outlook

奥补蝉丑颈苍驳迟辞苍鈥檚 dropped by 47,885 students since the 2019-2020 school year, putting the state鈥檚 total number of students at 1,098,997 during this school year. During COVID-19, parents pulled their kids out of public schools 鈥� and the However, drops in enrollment predate the pandemic due to declining birth rates and other factors.

As federal COVID-19 rescue funds run out and state funding declines along with enrollment, many districts are heading for a financial cliff.

K-12 education is the largest category of state spending in 奥补蝉丑颈苍驳迟辞苍鈥檚 budget. But Larry Delaney, who heads the state鈥檚 public schools teacher union, the Washington Education Association, recently called the percentage of the budget devoted to education 鈥渋nadequate鈥� and said more funding is needed to prevent school closures, as well as staff reductions and other cuts.

not to close a school in 2024 after an outcry from families, choosing instead to ask the Legislature for additional money. Olympia School District will also advocate for more state funding, said Superintendent Patrick Murphy in an email to the Standard.

Gov. Jay Inslee said that while he鈥檚 concerned about declining enrollment, it shouldn鈥檛 be a surprise that the share of the budget spent on education will fall in tandem with the sinking student headcount.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 solve the problem of people having less children or they鈥檙e not going to public school,鈥� Inslee

Chris Reykdal, who heads the state鈥檚 Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, said that while he encourages the Legislature to consider how declining enrollment is hitting school budgets, closures may be necessary as district finances tighten.

Nobody wants to see a school close and education is 奥补蝉丑颈苍驳迟辞苍鈥檚 biggest priority, said Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, who sits on the House Education Committee. Still, asking for more funds to keep open schools with fewer kids is a 鈥渄ifficult ask.鈥�

鈥淪ince the pandemic, we have done everything we can to supplement school district budgets so that they can continue to operate and give them time to rebuild their student population. Each year that goes by, the harder that gets to do,鈥� Ortiz-Self said. 鈥淲e have to meet so many other needs. How much time do we give school districts to rebuild?鈥�

鈥楾ough decisions鈥�

Vigil, the Boston Harbor parent, believes Olympia鈥檚 district hasn鈥檛 thought about how closing a school could deepen enrollment declines.

鈥淚 think there will be a lot of parents who are so angry with the district that they will leave,鈥� Vigil said.

But Roza, at Georgetown, pointed to the competing factors in play.

鈥淭hese are tough decisions,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut you know what also doesn鈥檛 work? Spreading your resources so thin across a lot of half-empty schools so kids don鈥檛 get art and they don鈥檛 get music and they don鈥檛 have a counselor.鈥�

Roza and Honig said the best thing districts can do when faced with a potential school closure is to be transparent to parents and the wider community.

Delaney, with the teacher union, agrees.

鈥淚f there鈥檚 not that transparency, human nature is to think the worst,鈥� Delaney said. 鈥淚n a high stakes, high-stress situation like potential school closures, it鈥檚 not in anyone鈥檚 interest to create more tension and anxiety.鈥�

As for Boston Harbor, announced a plan to vote on consolidation of two different elementary schools, Madison and McKenny. Superintendent Murphy said the district will work with community members to make the transition 鈥渁s smooth as possible.鈥� But the Vigil family said they鈥檙e against closures 鈥� regardless of the school.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want anybody else to feel the same way we do,鈥� Vigil said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com. Follow Washington State Standard on and .

Public school enrollment has increased slightly in North Carolina since the last school year. However, for the first time since the pandemic, traditional public schools observed a decrease in students while charter school enrollment continues to rise.

In October, the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released its first look at how many students are in the state鈥檚 public schools for the 2023-24 school year.

Though the total number of student enrollment measured through average daily membership (ADM) rose from last year, the state is still thousands of students short of pre-pandemic totals.

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According to the state’s most recent numbers, traditional public schools have 1,358,003 students in 2023-24, losing 0.4% of students from last year to this year and down 3.6% overall from before COVID-19.

Charter schools have 139,985 students in 209 schools in 2023-24, gaining 4.9% over last year. Despite the growth in charter school enrollment, as a sector it makes up less than 10% of total public school enrollment.

Traditional public schools are still largely the school of choice for most families.

These numbers matter because the information gathered during the student accounting process is used to make decisions for evaluations, planning, and funding for different school programs and resources.

For more on what ADM is and how it affects school funding, watch former Watauga County Schools Superintendent Scott Elliott .

The ADM numbers for traditional as well as charter, laboratory, and virtual school students in 2019 (pre-pandemic), 2020 (at the peak of the pandemic), 2021, 2022 (last year), and this year are displayed in the chart below.

Total Average Daily Membership for Month 1

ADM is a measure of enrollment. DPI and its calculation this way:

The total number of school days within a given term 鈥� usually a school month or school year 鈥� that a student鈥檚 name is on the current roll of a class, regardless of his/her being present or absent, is the 鈥渘umber of days in membership鈥� for that student. ADM for each school month is based on the sum of the number of days in membership for all non-violating students in individual LEAs/Charters, divided by the number of days in the school month. The final ADM is the total days in membership for all students over the school year divided by the number of days school was in session. ADM is a more accurate count of the number of students in school than enrollment. 

Methodology

To analyze the Month 1 ADM data from this year, we compared it with Month 1 ADM data from the last four school years for each school district (also referred to as LEA or local education agency for the sake of this report). You can find all the original data from DPI under 鈥淎verage Daily Membership and Membership Last Day by LEA (ADM & MLD).鈥�

The data for this year are the numbers as of Nov. 3, 2023 and are preliminary.

Districts sometimes see an increase in ADM in Month 2. Month 2 data for this year aren鈥檛 available, so we used only the Month 1 data in our analysis.

We looked at the 115 public school districts in the state, which includes the 100 county districts and 15 city districts.

ADM Analysis

This year, most districts experienced a 0.1 to 4.99% fall in ADM compared to last year.

The largest drop was in Warren County Schools, where they lost 6.88% of their students, while the LEA with the most gains with 6.36% in Weldon City Schools.

Here are the top five districts for growth over the past school year:

• Weldon City Schools (6.36%)
• Vance County Schools (2.51%)
• Brunswick County Schools (2.45%)
• Rockingham County Schools (1.74%)
• Sampson County Schools (1.51%)

Year after year, the smallest LEAs produce the largest percentage changes.

For example, Tyrrell County Schools reported an ADM of 445 students. Even though they only lost 32 students compared to the previous year, they still experienced one of the highest percentage drops compared to other districts.

The following are the five districts that took the largest loss of students.

• Warren County Schools (-6.88%)
• Tyrrell County Schools (-6.71%)
• Newton-Conover City Schools (-6.31%)
• Edenton-Chowan Schools (-4.48%)
• Pamlico County Schools (-4.34%)

Each district experienced a smaller change compared to last year, and one district experienced no change at all — Hyde County Schools.

Thirty-one districts saw an increase in ADM.

Schools including charters, lab schools, a regional school, and virtual schools collectively experienced more significant changes since 2019 compared to traditional public schools.

The state legislature this year granted oversight powers to a They are responsible for reviewing and approving school applications and updates about changes, compliance, and student performance.

Of the state鈥檚 five largest districts — Wake County Public School System, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Guilford County Schools, Winston Salem-Forsyth County Schools, and Cumberland County Schools — all of them saw a slight decline, except for Wake County. Their district saw a 1.06% increase.

Data included in this year鈥檚 analysis will be the last to be unaffected by school choice expansion. Recent legislation provides more state funding for vouchers for families to send their children to private schools.

Reactions

Those involved in education advocacy do not believe the patterns in charter and traditional public school enrollment can be pinned on one thing.

Matt Ellinwood, a project director at the North Carolina Justice Center, noted disruption from the pandemic and the population changes in different districts throughout the state as causes.

鈥淥ne factor I would highlight that is not often discussed is that charter schools are located disproportionately in growing urban areas where enrollments in public schools are increasing across the board. Very few are located in rural areas that are experiencing population declines and declining enrollment in local public schools,鈥� Ellinwood said.

Others point to parents’ choices and laws passed at the General Assembly.

Brian Jodice, the executive vice president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, said that the trend of North Carolina families seeking options like private schools, homeschooling, and public charters has been on the rise for the past 10 years. The pandemic accelerated this trend, he said.

鈥淚 believe that during the height of the pandemic families, perhaps for the first time, had a chance to come face-to-face with their child鈥檚 education because, for many of us, it was happening now at our kitchen tables and in our living rooms, when students were home for that extended period,鈥� Jodice said.

He said parents seek other options for a variety of reasons.

鈥淭hose reasons range from quality of education, to safety and security, to curriculum, to smaller classroom size, and-on-and-on,鈥� Jodice said. 鈥淭he key is to listen to those families, there is a lot of value in their why, and I would encourage all school makes and models to listen to families and students.鈥�

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

TOPEKA 鈥� A new labor report revealed the current annual rate of degree and certificate completion at Kansas colleges and universities would be insufficient to meet anticipated growth in demand for young, educated workers and could leave the state鈥檚 economy with an estimated 34,000 shortfall by end of this decade.

Analysis by the Institute for Policy and Social Research at the University of Kansas delved into challenges of surging higher education attainment in Kansas despite a declining percentage of high school graduates interested in college, the out-migration of Kansas college graduates to Missouri, Colorado and Texas, and the lack of competitiveness of salaries paid Kansas workers in engineering, business and other fields compared to peers in nearby states.

Failure of state lawmakers, education leaders and employers to address labor gaps, especially demand for recipients of bachelor鈥檚 degrees, could impede economic development through 2030.

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鈥淲e hear a message, and I believe this too, that not everyone needs a baccalaureate degree,鈥� said Blake Flanders, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas Board of Regents. 鈥淭he fact of the matter is the data says there are a lot of people who will need a baccalaureate degree.鈥�

Donna Ginther, KU distinguished professor economics and director of the research institute, said the report showed Kansas could add 54,000 jobs requiring a postsecondary degree from 2020 to 2030. This evaluation took into account the likely exit from the Kansas labor force of 180,000 people with postsecondary degrees due to retirement or moving to other states. Overall, Kansas would need to fill 234,000 jobs with new graduates over the 10 years.

At the current pace, she said, about 200,000 new postsecondary graduates could be expected to stay in Kansas through 2030. That would mean Kansas had to come up with an additional 34,000 credentialed workers to satisfy projected growth in jobs, Ginther said.

Exporting graduates

Ginther said Kansas had a track record of modest net migration losses among recipients of higher education credentials, but had substantial deficits with Texas and Colorado. One concern was higher wages offered in those states, even when Kansas鈥� lower cost of living was woven into calculations. A Kansas business degree recipient could expect to annually earn $10,000 more by taking a job in Colorado, she said. A Kansas engineer could make $15,000 more per year in Texas and a computer science graduate in Colorado could receive a salary of $20,000 greater than in Kansas.

In addition, the study showed Kansas retained less than half of all bachelor鈥檚 degree recipients nine years after graduation. The higher the degree earned, Ginther said, the more likely a person would depart Kansas.

鈥淭his is a challenge and an opportunity. If we can keep these people, we will meet that 34,000 number,鈥� Ginther said. 鈥淧eople want to live here if they can find a good job. That鈥檚 the bottom line.鈥�

Ginther said Kansas policymakers could make inroads into the problem by improving college readiness among the state鈥檚 high school graduates and by keeping a public college education affordable to students. She said the state could invest more broadly in college loan forgiveness programs that required Kansas graduates to take jobs in the state. In addition, she would encourage Kansas employers to make salaries more competitive with nearby states.

Overall, the KU institute鈥檚 report indicated the Kansas economy could absorb from 2020 to 2030 the recipients of 36,500 bachelor鈥檚 degrees, 7,400 college certifications, 3,500 doctoral or professional degrees, 3,100 master鈥檚 degrees, 3,000 associate degrees, and 1,100 requiring some college but no degree.

Wider path to college

Melanie Haas, chair of the Kansas State Board of Education, said part of the answer was expanding acceptance in public school districts of the value in creating personalized education plans for each student. She said some, but not all, school districts were enthusiastic about developing education plans for all students.

Formation of a documented education pathway could carry a student through high school and into college, she said.

鈥淲e need to hold districts to a high standard in the interests of students and the families they serve,鈥� Haas said. 鈥淪tudents need to see their own path to college.鈥�

Kansas Board of Regents member Cynthia Lane, the former superintendent of schools in Kansas City, Kansas, said Kansas should mandate districts make perhaps three college-level courses available to every high school student. Kansas has expanded opportunities for high school students to earn more college credit, but inconsistency in availability of courses remained an issue.

鈥淲hen you talk about students graduating with more than their high school diploma 鈥� early college hours, credentials 鈥� we are in great alignment,鈥� Lane said.

Wint Winter, a member of the state Board of Regents, said convincing people who earned college degrees in Kansas to stay in this state was a laudable goal. However, he said, out-of-state students attending college in Kansas still made a contribution to the state鈥檚 economy.

鈥淲e need to aspire to figure out a way to keep our students here, whether they are native Kansans or coming from Chicago,鈥� Winter said. 鈥淚 think we lose sight of the fact that even if we have that student for only four years, that student is contributing to the gross state product.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on and .

Last month, by unanimous vote, the 78-year-old representative of Board District 5 was elected president of the Los Angeles Unified Board of Education. She last held the position in , before moving on to stints in city and state politics and academia. 

In an interview with 蜜桃影视, Goldberg discussed both long-term and immediate difficulties facing the district, saying that negotiations with the unions representing LAUSD鈥檚 teachers and service workers would be resolved 鈥渋n the next four to six weeks.鈥� Her statements echo superintendent Alberto Carvalho鈥檚 recent promises of 鈥渁 multi-year contract鈥� that will 鈥渙ffset the pressure of inflation for all our workforce.鈥�  

Goldberg must also lead the board in deciding how to spend the district鈥檚 $14.3 billion in a way that addresses the emotional and academic impacts of the pandemic and prepares for a future of declining enrollment and swelling costs. 

Goldberg spoke with 蜜桃影视 about these challenges, her goals for her one-year term as president, and her thoughts about superintendent Carvalho as he approaches one year on the job. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Are you confident that the budget you’re going to craft can accommodate demands from the labor unions? Let’s start with the service workers. 

…I am absolutely confident that we will conclude successful negotiations with all our bargaining units [including UTLA and SEIU Local 99], in probably the next four to six weeks 鈥� without any strikes or work stoppages鈥� 

This board is very supportive of very good compensation packages because we know that the folks that have worked in our schools and in our offices have been through a lot of distress, and we want them to know that they are valuable to us and that they are the critical features of the district鈥here aren’t going to be any cuts to their benefits. That’s not where we’re looking. We need those people. The people at the schools are the only people who interact with children鈥� 

All of those folks make schools a place of learning and safety for children and young people, and we’re not going to do anything, if we can possibly avoid it, that would lead to anybody thinking of, first, not working for us any longer, second, not helping us recruit for our vacancies, and third, for feeling the need for a work stoppage.

One thing the teachers are asking for is smaller class sizes. In order to achieve that, you would need to hire more teachers.

We’ve held class sizes down this whole year, with schools [that] lost enrollment not losing teachers unless they lost significant enrollment. So class sizes are actually smaller than they’ve been in recent years鈥 don’t think we will need to hire people to continue that because, unfortunately, in the entire state of California and in Los Angeles Unified, enrollment is declining. 

People are leaving because they can’t afford to live in the state. People are leaving because of immigration policies that have slowed immigration, which was a big part of our increase in population through the eighties and nineties and the beginning of 2000.

And also the birth rate in Los Angeles County is down considerably from what it has traditionally been. So all of those factors mean that we will have fewer students next year than we have this year鈥�

Are you saying that natural demographic shifts will resolve that one point of tension between the district and the teacher’s union?

I doubt that it will ever resolve that point of contention. But I do think it will mean that the actual teaching experience for teachers in our system will be with significantly smaller class sizes than they have had when we were growing enrollment. 

I want to ask about enrollment decline. What is the board doing to make attending LA schools more attractive? 

It’s really done school by school, but we do a lot of things to make school more attractive. We have a very large sports program. We have a very large music program, and a growing music program. We have a very large arts program that is now beginning to grow again鈥e have festivals of cultural types all over the district. We have dual-language programs. We have programs with robotics. We have programs with STEM, we have programs with STEAM鈥�

Are those making a dent in the enrollment decline?

I think so. We have a fairly significant number of schools in my board district with an increased enrollment this year. A lot of them in Southeast and South Gate. Huntington Park and Bell. Those schools are full and filling up. MACES Academy has a waitlist. Southeast Middle has a waitlist. 

There are different efforts being done regionally. There are different efforts being done at individual schools. And there are different efforts that the board is paying for, like extended transportation after school so that more students can participate in after school fun activities.

We’re coming up on a year since superintendent Carvalho came to the district. How would you say he’s doing?

Well, I think he’s doing pretty well. He will get a formal evaluation sometime in early February. We have a process we’ve developed and board members have been asked to review some materials and to rate him on certain issues, and all of that will be gathered at a closed session sometime in February鈥ut I would say he has done some very important things very quickly. Certainly getting us a strategic plan, which the district has not had for many years鈥nd very quickly when he came in, he set up ways to get feedback and information from the public鈥s well as staff鈥�

He certainly has taken up the issues that are most important to this board, which are the social-emotional crisis in many of our schools, with many of our students, and some of our teachers. 

He also is pointing to real goals 鈥� specific, measurable goals in student achievement, and also how to support our personnel so they feel like this is the best place they ever wanted to work and to be able to help us recruit for still vacant positions鈥� 

What are some areas for improvement for the superintendent?

I’m really not able to say that I have any at this moment鈥hat he is doing is taking a look at not just the present, but the history and the future of this district鈥 have never seen a superintendent take a backward look at everything that has been going on as a way to understand how to move forward. 

It came out that [the cyberattack in September] started more than a month earlier than was disclosed by Carvalho鈥s Carvalho trustworthy?

He’s trustworthy. He did what was necessary to protect this district. Making things public at a time earlier than he did would have endangered all of the efforts of the federal government, the state government, FBI, local police in trying to stop this. 

We are one of the very few districts that has been hit hard by this stuff that paid no ransom and managed very carefully to also protect all our payroll, for example. We lost nobody. They got no payroll information with all the Social Security numbers, for example. They got none of it. In fact, the only Social Security numbers they got were from the original place they broke in, which was Facilities. And that was with a few contractors.

There was some student information. Not Social Security numbers, but things like birth dates that were accessed. Right?

Yes. There were other smaller things 鈥� none of which, however, could prevent us from opening the schools, running the schools, paying people on time and appropriately. So I would say, considering what a terrible mess 鈥� and we’re not done with it, by the way. We still, every day, every week, every month have a series of checks that are being done鈥�

I know a lot of one-time funding is going towards academic recovery efforts and there were these two acceleration days over winter break. Only about 9% of students in the district showed up. Do you see that as a success?

But about 65% of the ones that showed up were exactly the kids we were looking for. And we learned a lot. We learned that elementary kids are less likely to go to get help at a school they don’t regularly attend.

We learned that we should count on about half the students showing up 鈥� we figured that it would be 75% [of students who signed up]. We predicted wrong. In other words, we learn. So how we do the next two [acceleration days] in spring will be better.

How else should the district be tackling academic recovery in order to attract the students who didn’t show up for acceleration days?

We’re going to probably accelerate the amount of after school on your own campus with your own teacher support. That’s something we’re looking into for the following year. Saying鈥et鈥檚 see if we can do it two or three days a week all year long.

So, extended after school programs.

Extended after school, Saturday programs, additional teacher assistants we hope to hire to put into the classroom, so there’s a lower adult-to-student ratio. That makes for a lot of extra help for kids who are struggling. I spent 17 years teaching in Compton. I’m well aware of what it takes to make movement with kids who are struggling in school.

What about recovery for students with disabilities?…I’ve heard from a lot of parents and advocates that during [individualized education plan] meetings, the team is not bringing up compensatory education鈥s that acceptable?

I have no idea if what you’re saying is accurate or not. So, without knowing that I can’t answer that question.

What specifically can the district be doing for students with disabilities, who are going to need way more than just some extra after school time?

Well, the [individualized education plan] will determine their individual needs and the district will meet them. That’s our goal. We don’t have any subordinate goal to that. We don’t say we’re going to try or anything else. We’re going to meet them. 

We had trouble meeting them [early in the pandemic] because, for example, all the kids that needed speech 鈥� most of the speech teachers went online. The parents didn’t want to do speech online. They wanted it in person, and we weren’t willing to require speech therapists to meet in students鈥� homes. So yes, they didn’t get it. You’re right. That was terrible. But it was a decision the parent made not to do that鈥�

What we’re trying to do now is to overdose. So if [the students] were going to get [the services] once a week, we’re going to try to see if we can get it for them twice a week and things like that鈥�

We’re going to try to figure out ways to deal with that loss, which has been extreme. No doubt.

How would you describe the district’s financial health?

Well, on the macro level, not good. On the micro level, fine. 

On the macro level, we, every year, spend more than we receive. And the two areas which bust our budget, is special education 鈥� which is about a billion dollars from the general fund that should not have to come from the general fund 鈥� and are benefits paid to retirees. Both the healthcare benefits that we pay to retirees and pension benefits that we pay part of and that the employee pays part of. Both of those put us in a long-term situation of having to ultimately鈥ot be able to do what we have done for many, many decades, which is to pay the existing bills and to keep putting off some of the things that we haven’t yet figured out how to rectify.