By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer | LA daily News | http://bit.ly/Atpqka
2/7/2012 09:01:30 PM PST :: Los Angeles Unified's budget deficit has swelled to $557 million, and the district faces layoffs of up to 7,500 employees and cuts to some of its most successful programs without a revenue trifecta to bring in cash, officials said Tuesday.
An outline of the 2012-13 financial plan set for a vote next Tuesday shows the district will have only enough state revenue to fund core K-12 programs, along with district facilities and critical health and safety services.
Lower on the list of priorities - and with no funding source guaranteed - are some of the district's most popular programs. According to officials and documents, those include adult and early-childhood education, after-school and arts programs, and even the high-profile Academic Decathlon and All District Honor Marching Band.
The future of LAUSD's K-12 schools depends on at least three factors, including voters approving a statewide tax package proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown.
And whether the district can maintain any of its supplemental programs hinges on whether Los Angeles area voters approve a parcel tax of nearly $300 a year, a measure the school board is expected to put on the November ballot.
Officials say the district also needs help from a third source - either another tax initiative on the November ballot or concessions from the district's labor unions - to help stabilize local schools.
Word of the looming cuts has spread through the community, with advocates pleading with the board during recent meetings to save the preschool programs that have helped their youngsters get a jump start on kindergarten or the vocational schools that have taught them a trade.
Board President Monica Garcia hinted at the debate that could shape next week's budget.
"I'm concerned about the absence of adult education and of our preschool programs," Garcia said. "All of this is extremely concerning. We have to work to restore some level of revenue."
During a 90-minute presentation, Chief Financial Officer Megan Reilly painted a bleak picture of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
This will be the fifth year of deficits for Los Angeles Unified, which has lost a total of $2.8 billion, and 8,000 employees, since the financial crisis hit California in 2008-09.
Facing a shortfall of its own, the state began issuing IOUs to school districts. By 2011-12, LAUSD received less than half of the $6,506 per student it was guaranteed under Proposition 98, which sets the formula for education funding.
Those funding deferrals, and Brown's decision to eliminate state funding for school-bus transportation, pushed the LAUSD's so-called structural deficit to more than a half-billion dollars for 2012-13.
The board's budget discussions will be complicated by the fact that the outcome of the various ballot measures will not be known until four months after the start of the new fiscal year.
Given the uncertainty about revenue projections, Superintendent John Deasy said the board may pass a budget that includes "trigger" cuts that could be imposed if voters reject the various tax initiatives.
"We'll have to have a `what-if' scenario for next year," Deasy said. "How can we return as much of the $557 million in the operational hole as possible with very few knowns."
Deasy said Brown's initiative, which would raise the sales tax a half-cent and boost the income tax for high-income earners by 2 percent, would go toward paying what the state owes for last year.
If the ballot measure passes, the district would receive $5,258 for each of its students, although it is guaranteed more than $6,700. If Brown's measure fails at the polls, however, the district's per-pupil allocation would fall to $4,888.
Deasy said he will present a financial plan next week that will include a proposal to issue layoff notices to as many as 7,500 workers. He also will seek authorization to put the parcel tax on the November ballot and a request to seek the restoration of state funds.
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