Officials restore money to L.A. schools soon after making controversial funding cuts
Barely a week after the Los Angeles Board of Education approved a budget based on reduced federal anti-poverty aid, schools officials have restored nearly all of the funding.
The added dollars will help L.A. Unified avoid some cutbacks and may make some planned layoffs unnecessary.
While the news was welcome, it was less clear why the belt-tightening went forward in the first place: Federal officials had told the district about the improved funding projection in a May 24 letter, and the school board did not approve the budget until June 20.
“I am relieved that schools will not after all be enduring a disproportionate cut in budget and services,” said board President Steve Zimmer, whose term ended Friday. “I am troubled by the stress that they went through over a cut that, in the end, was not nearly as dramatic as people feared.”
The planned $40-million reduction would have affected more than 700 campuses, about 70% of district schools. The cut in the anti-poverty funds was about 16.5% at each affected Officials restore money to L.A. schools soon after making controversial funding cuts - LA Times:
