Los Angeles Unified School District board members unanimously approved the 2025-26 budget as they faced an almost $3 billion deficit.
The $18.8 billion budget puts the LAUSD at a $2.9 billion deficit with its projected revenue for the next fiscal year at $15.9 billion. Though there are clear spending gaps, board members are positive that the district will continue to have financial stability.
“Today I, and all of the Board members present, supported a budget that keeps our District on strong financial footing and reflects our shared commitment to students,” board member Nick Melvoin said in a press release. But he added he would like the district to consider more innovative ways to generate revenue to invest in students’ success.
“This budget reflects the gravity of our district’s current financial situation, investing equitably for both the short- and long-term,” board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin said in a press release.
During Tuesday’s board meeting, Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho highlighted the new amended budget investments of almost $60 million to programs like the Black Student Achievement Plan, accelerated arts investment, protection and training toward supporting LGBTQ+ students.
“They (the budget) are above all ethical and moral priorities that our school district should embrace. Doing the right thing despite the opposition,” said Carvalho. “We are on the right side of history as we make these budgetary investments.”
Parents shared their concerns during the meeting.
“This system fails families,” Maria Palma told the board. “The focus that you continue to have, the only clear hard data that we ever see are the dollars that are budgeted — of which the largest expenditures of course are salaries and benefits. So the focus here is the dollars on their way out. But where in the bargaining agreements are student academic outcomes?”
“Now you continue to have decreasing enrollment due to dismal academic outcomes and poor fiscal management,” Palma said. “Your system that you created is rotting from within.”
Though LAUSD student enrollment has significantly decreased in the past two decades — from 747,009 in 2003-04 to 387,152 students this year — board members continue to support budget increases.
“The principles and values reflected in this budget uphold our promise to student equity,” Carvalho said. “While the structural deficit we face is unwelcome, our team has adopted a responsible framework with flexible guardrails that are adaptive to our economic reality. We will continue to monitor the budget throughout the year, preparing for future challenges while maintaining transparency.”
