LAUSD In Search of Funds
"If Measure E required a simple majority to pass, we would be celebrating right now," an LAUSD statement said.
Updated 4:01 PM PDT, Fri, Jun 11, 2010
Leaders of the Los Angeles Unified School District were looking toSacramento and Washington, D.C., Friday in hopes of securing more funding for schools, now that voters rejected a proposed $100 parcel tax.
Measure E was supported by more than half of voters during Tuesday's election, but it required a two-thirds majority vote to pass.
"If Measure E required a simple majority to pass, we would be celebrating right now," LAUSD Board of Education President Monica Garcia and board member Steve Zimmer said in a joint statement. "The two-thirds requirement, however, proved too high of a threshold in such uncertain economic times.
"LAUSD students did not create our budget crisis and they cannot afford to be its victims," according to the statement. "That's why we woke up early this morning, rolled up our sleeves and began the work on new fronts to generate revenue for LAUSD."
According to Garcia and Zimmer, the district was pushing federal legislators to pass a $23 billion proposal that would save 300,000 teaching positions across the country. About $2.8 billion would come to California, with $225 million to the LAUSD, they said.