Teachers protest impending layoffs at the Los Angeles Unified School
District headquarters. (photo by Kevin Patra)

As teachers and union supporters boisterously protested outside the glass doors of the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters, the school board passed a budget that could cost 6,000 district workers, including almost 3,500 teachers, their jobs. 

"It stinks," said AJ Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, after the board's vote. "It's going to cause chaos and havoc in the schools."

LISTEN: United Teachers' A.J. Duffy at the rally

The more than four-hour meeting included pleas from teachers and parents to reject the proposal, and heated discussion between board members and Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines. The 4-3 vote in favor of passing the budget may have only widened the rift between the board and the teacher's union.

"We know they are going to find more money," said Duffy, "And in the meantime they are disrupting the lives of thousands and thousands of people."

Duffy attacked the school district's leadership and questioned the accuracy of the superintendent's budget.

"I don't believe their numbers," he said. "This district has never told the truth to the public.  Every year they cry poverty and at the end of every year they find hundreds of millions of dollars."

The numbers given by the district's Chief Financial Officer Megan Reilly included a detailed overview of the district's plans to avoid the more than $596 million deficit in 2009 and 2010 by laying off 6,850 employees, which include 1,605 non-permanent elementary teachers, 1,872 non-permanent secondary teachers, 498 non-permanent support service personnel, and 2,875 certificated administrators.

While Duffy questioned the cuts, the superintendent's office said the passing of the budget was a step toward a transformation the school district sorely needs.

"Absolutely, this is the last resort," said district spokeswoman Lydia Ramos, "We are cutting because we need to cut. The superintendent is also decentralizing, so schools can decide how they will function going forward.  He's basically streamlining at the same time as he is decentralizing."

Decentralization was a key component that the district believes will foster more trust and accountability at the local level, said Ramos.

Decentralizing authority will allow schools the ability to "buy back" teachers and support staff that have been given layoff notices.  The district estimates that more than 3,000 jobs will be bought back by schools. 

The school district said that the budget, however difficult, will allow teachers and administrators to get on with business.

"The vote was delayed by two weeks," Ramos said.  "We increased class sizes. They need to plan for that. They now have two fewer weeks to meet with parent councils, look at the data and determine where they are going to fund and use their resources." 

The cuts, Ramos said, while unfortunate, allow the country's second-largest school district, and "probably the only school district that is taking on this kind of transformation," to function more independently at the lower level.

Duffy said the vote sent a dangerous message.

"Clearly it's about getting rid of employees," he said. "Getting rid of teachers, getting rid of essential clerical and classified staff that are absolutely necessary for the running of this school district. This is going to devastate public education."

LISTEN: A.J. Duffy on the district's proposed budget cuts

Shaking The Cages To Save Every Job

Before the meeting, UTLA held a rally against the proposed budget cuts.  The goal of the rally was to save every teacher's job, said Duffy.  Most of the speakers were teachers who echoed the union president's words of mistrust. 

"I understand that under these economic conditions I will not receive my 4.53 percent cost-of-living allowance that the state passed to the district last year, but that the district never passed on to teachers," said Julie Van Winkle, a seventh grade math and science teacher at Leichty Middle school.  "When the district said there was no more money to pay the teachers, I have to admit I didn't believe it." 

The distrust led some teachers to question the school board's work and make even more demands. 

"I understand strides have been made to save the jobs of permanent teachers, that is not enough," said Jairo De La Torre, a teacher at the Dr. Theodore T. Alexander Science Center.

De La Torre referred to the 1,996 certificated teachers whose layoff notices were officially rescinded little more than three hours before the board approved the budget that could mean job loss for more than three times as many employees. 

"It's about saving all the jobs, not just veteran teachers but all teachers.  No cuts are acceptable," said Duffy.

Ramos said the district wants to work with the unions to get through this difficult time.  "We want to work with the unions as a partner, we have made cuts to our departments as they have asked," she said.  "Our unions are in need of doing the same. Some are willing, some, like UTLA, are not as willing to move and make concessions."

The district blames the cuts on declining enrollment and increased payroll costs.  However, Duffy said more cuts should come from the bureaucracy. "You always put your money where it does the greatest good, and that is in the classroom," he said

Ramos said one reason for the cuts was the health care plan that added $185 million to the budget.  "What people fail to recall is that the union told us their number one priority was full medical benefits, and we gave it to them," she said. "The unions all banded together and said, 'This is important to us.' They stood their ground and we said, 'OK.' But on the bottom line it's going to mean jobs [lost]."

Not all teachers echoed Duffy's hard line. Some said they understood the difficult situation and would take a hit if it meant saving their fellow teachers' jobs. 

"If it means furloughs, it means furloughs," said John Duff, a health teacher from Miguel Contreras Learning Complex.  "If we all need to give a little bit, we give a little bit." 

The day after the school board's decision, Ramos said there was a "meeting of the minds" with senior staffers to discuss how the district will work with unions and help local districts deal with their new independence. "We are giving some autonomy and we are providing as much support as possible."

However, the teachers union doesn't plan to stop fighting the cuts. 

"Oh, we are going to do stuff about it," said Duffy.  "We are going back to Sacramento. We are going to be rallying. We are going to have demonstrations locally at schools sites and areas.  We are going to be shaking the cages."

While the district views decentralization and streamlining as a positive change, the lack of unity and trust within the school district has led some parents to question its goals and seek other avenues for their children's education.

"I personally send my kids to private schools, always have," said Gemma Marquez, a public school teacher and mother of two.  "Why? Because look at L.A. Unified, look at what it does.  It's inconsistent.  They are always experimenting with children."