More than 3,200 Los Angeles Unified employees would receive a notice of a possible layoff under a proposal to be considered at Tuesday\u2019s Board of Education meeting amid calls from union leaders to pause the decision until the state revenue forecast becomes clearer.<\/p>\n
The number of workers who are likely to lose their jobs is expected to be much lower, but could still be significant. Other workers would face demotion, pay cuts and new jobs in different places. <\/p>\n
The proposed action is part of a plan to close what officials describe as an ongoing structural deficit \u2014 meaning that the nation\u2019s second-largest school system is spending more annually than it is receiving. Layoffs have been avoided for more than five years largely because of one-time, accumulated relief aid related to COVID-19.<\/p>\n
In a December budget filing, the district projected deficits of $877 million, or 14%, for the 2026-2027 school year and $443 million, or 7%, the year after. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese are dangerously high deficit levels for a public education institution, and more importantly, signal a significant structural imbalance, not a temporary dip,\u201d according to the staff report.<\/p>\n
The number of actual layoffs is certain to be much smaller than 3,200. The larger figure reflects required notice provisions under state law and union seniority rules. When a long-tenured employee\u2019s position is eliminated, that employee may be eligible to bump out another employee with less seniority in a lower-position. Both employees, however, must receive notice of a possible loss of their position \u2014 as well as anyone else in the bumping chain. <\/p>\n
A truer picture of the potential job losses may be in the number of central-office positions that are being \u201cclosed\u201d or eliminated.<\/p>\n
The board report lists 657 \u201ccentral office and centrally-funded position closures.\u201d Among those jobs: 220 IT support technicians, 33 parent education support assistants, 23 gardeners, five area bus supervisors, five stock clerks and three interpreters. Another 52 positions would have reduced hours and 22 positions would be paid at a lower rate.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the district report states, fewer than 1% of the district\u2019s more than 83,000 employees<\/a> are likely to be at risk of losing a district job entirely. <\/p>\n Most district unions remain in negotiations with L.A. Unified. Members of United Teachers Los Angeles have voted<\/a> to give their union\u2019s leaders the right to call a strike at their discretion. <\/p>\n