The state of California finances might be worse than last calculated. For Los Angeles schools, that means kids lose their counselors.
In January, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated the state faced a $58 billion budget deficit. Now, they say it’s bigger — about $15 billion more, to be exact.
That means California has a $73 billion problem to solve. The state spent more than it made, and will now need to find that money by increasing its revenue, minimizing its spending and shifting the dollars in its reserves.
Minimizing spending is a broad term that cuts deep for schools with state funding. That decision is handed down to them by school districts like Los Angeles Unified (LAUSD).
“We’re just trying to figure out how to make ends meet,” said Antoinette Cass, the principal of Open Magnet Charter School.
Cass said that since LAUSD revised the budget allocated for her school in the beginning of February, she has worked to address the needs and input of everyone from union members to stakeholders. She had a little less than two weeks to submit her budget for the next year.
It’s all in the name of keeping her staff employed, and keeping schools safe.
“The most important thing is saving the people within our community so that they have a job, and so that our school can flourish with the personnel that we have hired and have faith in,” said Cass.
The compromise of preserving community is cutting back on the “extras” of a young education. For Open Magnet Charter, that means the loss of field trips, instructional materials and general supplies.
LAUSD addressed the stress this year’s deficit will have on schools in a statement on Jan. 10. Noting the existing challenge of weaning off one-time COVID-relief federal funding, the district said it aims for a solution that “maintains its fiscal health and provides for the needs of our students.”
Part of that solution means reducing staff positions across the board.
When Kerry Kehrley, the principal of 32nd Street School/USC Magnet, learned his numbers would be reduced, he said it was a sign that the state’s problem was not one that would be going away anytime soon.
“It’s an unfortunate time, and we’re going to have to do some belt-tightening,” said Kehrley.
For a K-12 school, that means the loss of counselors, campus aides and teacher assistants.
“It will have an impact on our school as a whole,” said Kehrley. “When there’s a little bit less on the plate, people tend to lose their table manners. Now there’s going to be, in terms of the district as a whole, the challenge of who receives funding — and in what amount.”
Still, Kehrley said he and the district are working to keep these cuts as far away from the classroom as possible.
He pointed to Governor Gavin Newsom’s “rainy day fund” in state reserves as a promising solution to the loss in funding. Much of that fund will go to cover the below-minimum spending that Proposition 98 was supposed to guarantee.
Proposition 98 is an almost 40-year-old formula. It guarantees that a portion of California’s revenue goes towards schools and community colleges, typically about 40%, according to EdSource.
Since the 2021-22 school year, funding for Proposition 98 has suffered about $12.2 billion in cuts. Now, Newsom seeks to protect the schools caught in that loss by withdrawing about $7 billion from his rainy day fund to meet the minimum obligation California has to its public schools.
Both Kehrley and Cass said in the midst of re-budgeting and working on deficits, the focus of their work is clear: their students.
“The priority is to make sure schools are safe,” said Cass.
Beyond that, she said she hopes this inspires community members to stay involved in local education workings.
“It’s in everybody’s best interest to just be informed. Attend your school meetings, attend any meetings about the state budget, on a local or state level and get involved so that you know what’s going on and therefore can advocate for what’s best for our kids,” said Cass.
Newsom will release updated projections of the next year’s financing in May. The California Legislature must vote to pass that budget bill by June 15.