Members of United Teachers Los Angeles and Service Employees International Union Local 99 rallied outside Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters, demanding the district utilize the projected $6.3 billion in reserves to safeguard students from potential staffing and program cuts in the upcoming school year, in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Union members said the district failed to allocate sufficient funds to maintain current staffing levels and services for the next academic year. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)
The United Teachers Los Angeles and Service Employees International Union Local 99 held a rally downtown outside the Los Angeles Unified School District school board meeting on Tuesday, May 7, calling on the district to use its “projected $6.3 billion in reserves” to avoid possible cuts to staff and programs in the coming school year.
Max Arias, SEIU Local 99 executive director, criticized the district, saying in a statement, “Reducing hours and eliminating health care benefits of workers who are already at poverty level wages will do nothing to address homelessness and poverty in our city. If LAUSD is truly serious about ensuring equity and opportunity for all students, then they need to deliver a budget that reflects these values.”
But an LAUSD spokesperson said in a statement, “Los Angeles Unified is committed to prioritizing investments that directly impact student learning and achievement. We are exploring a multi-faceted approach that combines fiscal responsibility with strategic resource allocation. We will protect our workforce and the historic compensation increases that were negotiated, and we will protect programs for our students.”
The district spokesperson added, “Together, with the support and engagement of our community, we will uphold our commitment to creating clean, safe, nurturing and respectful schools and workplaces.”
UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said in a statement, “Year after year, the district has claimed that it will be in dire financial straits if they fully fund the schools L.A. deserves, yet the reserve keeps going up.” She said the district’s projected $6.3 billion reserve “is three times the reserve they had in 2019.”
Siding with UTLA, Luis Torres, a campus aide at Samuel Gompers Middle School in South Los Angeles, said in a statement that in his job, “I do a security check of bathrooms, locker rooms, unlocked doors every day. We’re trusted adults out on the playgrounds and students talk to us about bullying and other issues. It makes no sense to cut essential student services.”
