No More Denial for LAUSD Parents

Instead of harping about the budget cuts five years in a row, the LAUSD school board needs to indict the pension and healthcare benefits that are really bankrupting the district.

Offered in more flush times, benefits to public employees have grown out of control.
In LA Unified, teachers contribute nothing to their healthcare benefits. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie asked the teachers in his state to contribute 1.5% toward paying for their healthcare. Because they refused, Christie was forced to close down schools.

If teachers would ante up and forgo some of their handsome payouts, they could save their schools, save their students, and save their jobs.

Teachers deserve protection, but not caretaking. No one deserves so much out of the coffers of the school district.

The LA Unified Board also moved to permit students to enroll wherever they wanted to in the next school year. More freedom, more opportunities for students to learn, both can contribute toward a better rounded education for students still struggling in substandard schools.

Instead of complaining about the poor education that students are receiving because of such massive cuts year after year, Los Angeles Unified must institute school choice beyond its own borders. Centinela Valley Union High School District permitted a limited scope of school choice, which enlarged the enrollment at Lawndale High School, while Leuzinger High School's enrollment dropped considerably. The second school is enjoying a more peaceful atmosphere and a higher morale as a result of the population transfer.

In short, there is plenty of money for students to learn what they need to learn. Instead of investing huge sums of wealth in teacher compensation or in ancillary programs which have nothing to do with educating students to read and write, the district needs to prioritize its funding and its mission: the students.