In Partnership with 74

Budget: Class Size, Re-Hiring Teachers, & Raises

Hillel Aron | June 5, 2013



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General Fund ExpYesterday’s special Board meeting highlighted the drastic cuts made to LAUSD’s budget over the last five years. Howard Blume has a good summary over at the LA Times:

“[C]lass sizes in the early grades have gone up from 20 to 24 students — and higher in upper grades. Physical education classes have ballooned to more than 60 students. Elementary schools have lost custodial staff and any notion of frequent cleaning; instead, small teams of cleaners rush from campus to campus at night.”

The teachers union, administrators union, and many parents called for the district to restore all positions lost during the economic downturn. Superintendent John Deasy has signaled that he’d prefer to give current employees raises.

How do teachers feel about this? Teacher activist Brent Smiley comments on our very own website:

“I’m all in favor of getting a raise, but the Superintendent needs to understand that his predecessor negotiated a set class size level. If the good Doctor Deasy wants to use the money for something else, then he must go back to the negotiating table.

“Too often this Superintendent has not been willing to adhere to the legal and binding contract that exist between the district and the teachers. Contracts are established for just this reason and violations of the contract can and should lead to civil penalties.”

Previous posts: Special Board Meeting Not So Special After AllDeasy: Raises & Deficit Reduction Before New HiresConflicting Options at Tomorrow’s Board MeetingBoard to Consider Hiring, Formula Issues

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