Calling, Teaching, and LAUSD Strike

Over the past few weeks, the confrontation between LAUSD and various unions (a "triple-union" coalition of 70,000 workers, primarily led by SEIU Local 99 (service workers), United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) (educators), and the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) (principals/managers)) surfaced. As a result of pressure from the three unions, a large pay increase and benefits were agreed to. However, critics and experts warn that the terms cannot be fulfilled without new funds. The reasons are as follows:

1. LAUSD has long been in the red. Even if the status quo were maintained, a $1.5 billion deficit would occur this fall. If the $1.17 billion negotiated is added to that, the total reserves of $5 billion held by LAUSD today will run out within two to three years. Parenthetically, LAUSD’s student size has decreased about 44% over the past 20 years, and it will continue to decline at the rate of 4~4.5% each year. The number of students, which was almost 740,000 in 2002, dropped to fewer than 400,000 at the end of 2025. And another 120,000 to 150,000 (about 30%) are expected to decrease over the next 10 years. As funding for public education is determined by the number of students, this downward trend will necessarily shrink the budget. 

2. While the LAUSD will ask the state for more money, that won’t be easy. Discoveries of massive systemic and widespread frauds (primarily related to nursing homes, medicare programs, after-school programs, Covid-19 spending, etc.) call for greater accountability. And since the low birthrate, population exit, and corporate departures from CA will necessarily decrease its revenue base, the state government will not have the funds for LAUSD's additional expenses.
   

3. LAUSD says it will save $150 million per year by cutting administrative staff and canceling external services and subcontractors. But that “saving” amounts to only about 5% to 7% of the projected deficit. It helps, but it just won’t be enough.

LAUSD, the mayor, the city council members, and unions will try to finance massive expenditures by issuing bonds. But what is a “bond” but a fancy term for debt financing? It’s placing the financial burden on future generations! Sadly, ordinary citizens do not know that bonds are future taxes! Why? Because politicians have long deceived voters by using the term "bonds" in place of “taxes”! Many studies show that if the term is changed to "deferred taxation," voters will oppose it.

But, alas, we will be bombarded with the “same old” messages to pass the bond measure: "For students’ right to be educated," or "For your child’s future," or "We cannot deprive our children of their future,” the airwaves and TV channels will be flooded with such "virtue signaling." Unfortunately, they are just emotional appeals to soften and blind the voters.

Personally, I was hoping that at least the UTLA (teachers’ union) would take a moderate position or withdraw from joining the strike. While I’ll never know exactly what happened behind the closed doors, I do know that too many teachers in public schools chose the profession without deeply considering their “calling.” I’m a firm believer that teaching is a calling. That is, without the firm belief that you were called to be a teacher, complaints and work will pile up, and it becomes altogether too easy to throw in the towel—or demand more money and benefits while avoiding supervision and accountability. I’m glad that NCA is a community where most (if not all, I hope!) of our teachers have thought deeply about their call to the profession. And they have “answered” the call to teach. That is why, though we may not be the highest-paid teachers or receive the largest benefit packages, we keep striving to make an impact on our students and families. You see, like the ad slogan from Hebrew National (a hot dog maker), "We answer to a higher authority!" That Authority keeps us humble, committed, and indefatigable. And who benefits from our efforts? Our students, of course!  LAUSD and other metropolitan-area school districts, i.e., New York and Chicago, are dying dinosaurs. No amount of Band-Aids will fix their problems. They need major and extensive surgeries and even amputations. And that might not be enough. Still, something must be done. Why? Because the dinosaurs are nearly dead, and the only thing keeping them alive is more money from taxpayers.