As schools finalize their site budgets for next year, many members are reporting cuts. The district is projecting a 3.3% average decline in enrollment for next year and clawing back a total of $263 million from school-site budget carryover. With $1 billion spent on outside contractors and $5.03 billion sitting in reserves, these unnecessary cuts are an attempt to spread FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) as we ramp up the pressure in contract negotiations. 

While enrollment is a challenge, LAUSD is sitting on $5.03 billion in reserves. LAUSD must:

  • Put the cuts on hold
  • Use the reserve fund to mitigate the impact of declining enrollment on school budgets
  • Re-organize the districtwide budget to prioritize student and staff needs over outside contractors and other expenditures
  • Settle the contract with central funding of necessary positions AND a salary scale that allows LAUSD educators to live stable lives in this city. This central funding of essential staffing is a key aspect of your current contract fight. If more positions are centrally funded, they will not need to be financed through your local school budget, freeing up that funding for other important priorities. 

Chapter leaders: If your school is facing significant displacements of staff, LAUSD needs to hear from your school community loud and clear.  

  • Step 1: Meet with your principal to discuss the impact of the E-CAST.  In this meeting, it is important to determine not just the potential impact, but to make sure your principal is appealing their budget. Principals have the ability to appeal their numbers, and as a first step, get their commitment to do so.  
  • Step 2: Submit a dissent letter objecting to the budget cuts and emphasizing the impact it will have on your school. Here is a template to use.
  • Step 3: Meet with your CAT team and develop an organizing plan that targets key LAUSD decision makers. This includes your regional director, local district superintendent, all school board members, and Carvalho. This plan should have a compelling story, and be supported by your school community. An example of a plan could be an email campaign where parents, faculty, and community members send emails to all targets, filling their inboxes with demands to restore staffing at your school site.
  • Step 4: Once your CAT team has a plan, share with educators and parents. Talk about the potential impact of staffing cuts, and get your coworkers and parent community onboard with the plan developed by your CAT team. Parents will care about staffing cuts and are likely to participate in an action focused on fighting against them.
  • Step 5: Launch your campaign with parent phone calls, emails, leafleting, and so on.