It's a tough day when 1,900 layoffs is seen by some as good news. But that argument could actually be made with the passage of the LAUSD budget.
There was a time when the financial picture was so bad, the district sent more than 5,000 notices to teachers telling them it was quite possible they would lose their jobs. That was met with anger and despair, protests and rallies.
But when the board approved its $5.4 billion (yes, billion) dollar budget it announced a teacher reduction of 1900. And that's an improvement, unless you're one of the 1900 laid off. It means the teacher-student ratio for kindergarten through third grade remains the same.
"(Those) cuts looked like they were going to be a reality in February" said Superintendent John Deasy. "But we were able to reverse that."
In addition to the teacher layoffs, 61% of school clerical staffers will be cut, along with Pre-K programs at Gardner Elementary and other Title 1 programs.
"Over the last four years, we've had to cut a couple billion dollars from this budget," said board member Richard Vladovic.
And that isn't over yet. The board is already looking at the budget for the 2012-2013 school year, and they say they're already staring at a budget shortfall north of $600-million.
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And that likely means more tough days ahead.
