LAUSD OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA RELATIONS 2010

STATEMENTS BY SUPERINTENDENT R AMON C. C ORTINES

REGARDING SPECIAL LOS ANGELES BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
M ARCH 2, 2010
On December 8, 2009, I presented to the Los Angeles Board of Education four different plans for balancing
our deficit, some of which included shared solutions and one plan without shared solutions. Since that time,
the State deficit has grown and the impact on education has increased.
o We are now facing a $640 million deficit for the 2010-11 school year as a result of the
Governor’s proposed budget announcement in January.

We have been aggressively pursuing shared solutions with all of our employees and bargaining units.
However, three months have passed and we now have another milestone and deadline to face.

o March 15 is the deadline required for “noticing” any permanent certificated employees –
providing them the notice that there is a very real possibility that we will not have the funds to
keep them employed next school year unless alternatives are reached.

o Next week, I will ask Megan Reilly, our Chief Financial Officer, to provide us an updated
financial snapshot of our current year 2009-10 expenditures and revenues, and I will be
presenting our recommendations for our updated Fiscal Stabilization plans as part of our Second
Interim Report due to the Los Angeles County Office of Education by March 17.

We have reached shared commitments from five of our bargaining units, but unfortunately we have not
received shared commitments from all, and we will not know the results of the limited parcel tax until June.
These were budget balancing solutions factored into our Plans A, B & C. However, until we have all of the
shared solutions finalized, we must adhere to state law and be responsible in our noticing. The Los Angeles
County Office of Education requires that we have an alternate plan if other plans do not come about.

It has been recommended to me to hold on to a central pot of Title I dollars to bring down class size. I want
to be clear that I will not do this. I strongly believe that our schools’ administrators need to decide how to
use their funds. All of our employees have had to bear these cuts and it is important for our schools to be
able to prioritize how to best support their students with the limited resources available to them.

Over 80 percent of our budget is dedicated to our employees. In these uncertain and difficult economic
times, we cannot limit options for balancing this budget, rely on things that are outside of our control, or be
unrealistic about the difficulties facing the State and thus ultimately facing our schools.

Today, I am recommending noticing a number of our certificated employees to the Board of Education. It
pains me to see such a large number of our employees receive notices, but with another deadline upon us
and without shared solutions finalized, we do not have any other choice. This does not mean we won’t
continue to seek alternatives.

I will be the first one to tell you that we do not have enough money for education in California. I want to
encourage everyone to participate in the March 4 rallies to show their support for no more cuts to education.

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I want to remind everyone of the multiple options we are pursuing:

o Plan A - Shared Solutions. Our goal is to receive shared commitments from all partners including
ourselves, the community and collective bargaining units. This solution provides the widest base of
support beginning with the District’s commitment to seek out new revenue sources, cost efficiencies,
and “rightsizing.”
 Increasing State, Federal, and Local revenues – We are aggressively pursuing other
revenue opportunities including a limited parcel tax, transitional kindergarten,
competitive stimulus funding, selling property, identifying sponsorships, advertising and
Medi-Cal billing.
 I have already recommended the reduction of our school year by five days. This is not a
decision I take lightly nor is it a decision that I think is good for our students. However, I
would prefer to shorten the year than to implement layoffs that would disrupt the
connection between our students and employees.
o Plan B - Shared Commitments, No Cuts. This option was to approach the entire deficit through
employee salary concessions. Now with the increased amount of the deficit with the Governor’s
latest announcement I must be realistic that this would be harder for employees to bear. So this
would not be the preferred solution.
o Plan C – Combination of Solutions. I am open to multiple combinations of increased revenues,
shared commitments from employees and expense reductions.
 A 1 percent increase in student attendance would generate an additional $30 million in
revenue. That is why we have already held two student recovery days.
 A $100 limited parcel tax would only require $2 per week from each property owner. I
want to be clear this limited parcel tax is needed because of a lack of funding from
Sacramento, not because of any mismanagement of the District’s budget.
 If all employees take a furlough or unpaid vacation day that could save $15 million.
Currently, senior management and five collective bargaining groups have agreed to four
furlough days this year.
o Plan D – Last Resort, Expense Reductions. We must balance our budget if the first three strategies
are not successful. The Board of Education has the responsibility to present a balanced budget within
its legal authority. Just like last year, we will start by cutting farthest from the classroom. However,
given the size of our deficit the classroom will be impacted. This plan is not my recommendation
for what is academically the right thing for our students. This plan is unfortunately a necessity and
our only option unless other solutions become available.
 Reduction of central office
 Reduction of local districts
 Reduction of programs and support services
 Reduction of school personnel by 20 percent and in some cases 25 percent
 Suspension of Visual and Performing Arts programs
 Increase class size in grades 4-8 by two students
 Reduce librarians, aides and nurses to only mandates or non-general funding
Today, our only choice is to proceed by providing adequate noticing to our employees. These notices today
represent part of our new Plan D, the plan that I outlined in early December 2009, plus additional cuts
necessary due to the $170 million added by the Governor in January. Until we have signed agreements or
have obtained voter approval for the limited parcel tax in an election, we cannot rely upon Plans A, B or C
as our only solutions. The County won’t let us. I am hopeful that the decisions made today are
temporary.
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When we receive additional shared solutions, we will restore class size and return essential resources and
services to our schools.

In closing, I know these are difficult times, but we must be responsible in noticing the appropriate number
of people until we are able to secure other shared solutions or we know better how the State proposes to deal
with some of its economic uncertainties this summer.
 I am committed to sharing all of the information needed for our taxpayers to make an educated vote on
the limited parcel tax in June. I am confident once they review the information, they will agree that we
don’t have any other choices.
 I am also committed to continuing to work with our collective bargaining groups to secure the shared
commitment that we need. But time is running short and the lives our employees are being impacted the
longer we wait.
 Finally, I want to stress again the State of California needs to revise the Reduction in Force process. We
cannot use seniority as the only method to determine an employee’s value. We must find a way to look
at multiple measures that include seniority and performance.

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