LAUSD in shocking financial crisis, reveals plan to cut thousands of jobs

Los Angeles Unified School District is facing a staggering financial crisis that could force it to slash thousands of jobs over the next three years as California officials warn the nation’s second-largest school district is at “high” risk of insolvency.The California Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, which provides financial oversight and assistance to school districts, issued a stark warning Tuesday about LAUSD’s fiscal health, saying the district is running out of money.“Regardless of the FHRA risk score, the district’s lack of going concern designation elevates its overall fiscal solvency risk level to High,” the report said, noting that the district, which oversees over 350,000 students, may exhaust its unrestricted reserves as soon as the 2027–28 school year.The district’s projected structural deficit is so severe that officials warned delaying cuts could leave LAUSD with fewer options — and force even deeper reductions later.“The magnitude of the district’s projected structural deficit means that delays in implementing corrective actions will reduce the options available in subsequent years and may require more significant reductions over a shorter period,” the report said.The warning comes as LAUSD prepares for potentially more than 6,000 job cuts over the next three years, according to the district’s financial projections.The district is already facing a dramatic mismatch between its staffing levels and shrinking enrollment.Between the 2019-20 and 2024-25 school years, enrollment at LAUSD’s noncharter schools plunged from 440,365 students to 369,830 — a roughly 16% drop.Yet the district’s total full-time equivalent workforce actually grew from 60,344 to 64,148, an increase of about 6.3%.That means the number of students per employee fell from 7.3 to just 5.8 during the same period.The teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, one of the biggest stakeholders within the district, strongly disagreed, callin...