LA schools unlikely to reopen on time this fall with reduced budget, official says

It is “not realistic” to expect schools in Los Angeles Unified to open on time this fall if the district’s budget is reduced, Deputy Supt. Megan Reilly said during a school board meeting Tuesday. “We cannot in good conscience risk the health and safety of our students and staff by returning to the classroom prematurely,”she added.

Reilly’s comments come after LA Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner and five other superintendents of urban school districts said in a letter to legislative leaders Monday that funding cuts proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in his revised budget would result in the reopening of schools being delayed.

Newsom’s revised budget proposed a 10% cut to general funding for school districts. For LA Unified, that would mean a cut of about $500 million. But the superintendents wrote in the letter Monday that it will cost more, not less, to reopen schools for in-person classes, due to increased costs for sanitation, personal protective equipment, more staff and efforts to recover lost learning.