Weekend Agreement in Los Angeles Education

The recent agreement between the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) union has at least one silver lining: kids won’t miss school, and parents can continue working. But honestly, that’s about where the positives end for me.

The district, which has been struggling financially, has decided to raise salaries by 11.65%, leading to an average increase of nearly 14%. It’s puzzling how this decision aligns with their financial issues. And, it seems there might be more concessions ahead as they prepare to negotiate with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

If SEIU pushes further, it seems likely other unions, including UTLA, might band together and threaten strikes. Los Angeles is now part of a troubling trend in California where public schools are facing closures due to strike threats from unions.

This year is an election year, and it’s interesting how much influence teachers’ unions have. They often play a crucial role in determining electoral outcomes, especially for Democrats who rely heavily on union endorsements for support.

This political landscape often leads school board members to prioritize their own interests, sometimes at the expense of what’s best for students.

But beyond the politics, LAUSD has been rocked by recent scandals. Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho is currently on leave after the FBI conducted searches related to corruption allegations concerning an AI contract. Meanwhile, a former technology project manager, Hong “Grace” Peng, has been indicted for her involvement in a $22 million fraud scheme.

Such turmoil has weakened the district’s position, despite the fact that, theoretically, it could have pushed back against the union’s demands. An independent arbitrator had suggested a lower raise than what the union was asking for, yet the district ended up conceding more.

Financial reports indicate that LAUSD expects to struggle financially for the next three years, which raises questions about their ability to meet these raised salaries. The union chose to time these negotiations for spring—right before the school year ends—to amplify the inconvenience for families and students. It feels a bit like using kids as pawns in a financial dispute, when the fight could have waited until summer.

From where I stand, it seems the unions are more focused on their own membership and political agendas than on the students’ education. This focus is evident in their previous push to defund the LA School Police Department.

Kids appear to be a secondary concern at UTLA, which might explain the decline in academic performance over the years. Over half of LAUSD’s third graders aren’t reading at grade level, and enrollment numbers have plummeted faster here than in any other area of the country.

It’s clear that LAUSD desperately needs new leadership—from the top down, whether it’s with the district, the union, or even in the classrooms themselves. Our children truly deserve better.