Some of the area’s most disadvantaged students are not getting their fair share of state funding from the Los Angeles Unified School District, according to a new report from the University of California, Berkeley and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
Of the $820 million dollars in state funding sent to LAUSD this year, $145 million was intended for kids living in poverty, learning the English language, or in foster care.
Instead, according to the yearlong review, school officials used funding to hire librarians, nurses and other staff at all middle and elementary schools rather than targeting those in need.
Fifty-five percent of the budgeted money was reportedly used for staff programs in high schools.
District officials said the money was used appropriately, because state rules allow use of funds for district-wide programs.
The report, released Monday, comes while the LA Board of Education gets ready to debate the 2015-2016 budget.
That budget includes $1.1 billion from the state, which is intended for students from low-income neighborhoods at risk for poor academic performance– roughly 80% of LAUSD pupils.
The renewed focus on narrowing achievement gaps comes in par from Governor Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), aimed at giving equal benefits of schooling across diverse students.
