The school district’s largest increase in compensation spending, about $315 million, went to administrative positions, not teachers.

Aaron Garth Smith: and Jordan Campbell:

While losing 34% of its students, LAUSD’s spending on compensation increased by $1.7 billion

Los Angeles Unified School District’s recent labor agreements with United Teachers Los Angeles and other unions were hailed as a win for teachers, administrators, and service employees. But the district, which spends more money than it gets each year and is losing students, doesn’t have the funds to pay for it. 

This isn’t for lack of funding: from 2002 to 2023, California led the nation in K-12 spending growth. The most recent federal data shows LAUSD spent nearly $27,000 per student in 2023. So why does the nation’s second-largest public school district have a billion-dollar structural budget deficit? 

Analysis of data from California’s State Controller’s Office, which publishes employee-level payroll data for public school districts, counties, cities, and other government entities, shines a light on the causes of LAUSD’s structural deficit and how to fix it. 

This analysis starts with an overview of our methodology, presents key findings, and discusses implications for LAUSD and state policymakers. 

Methodology 

We obtained all 11 years of LAUSD compensation data available from the California State Controller’s Office website, sorted job titles into 19 categories, and calculated inflation-adjusted spending on each category. 

While LAUSD spending figures are available elsewhere, this data allows for greater nuance in evaluating compensation trends. However, it also has limitations. Because the dataset doesn’t distinguish between part-time and full-time employees, we do not report employee counts. And, because some job titles are vague and their categories can’t be confirmed, all figures presented are estimates. 

More.