UTLA BARGAINING FLASH! …

   UTLA BARGAINING
         FLASH!                                                                April 10, 2008




     0% makes zero sense
District officials are using next year's budget shortfall to
justify not giving you a raise this year. Here's why their
numbers just don't add up:
          Where did the COLA go?
   LAUSD received a 4.53% cost-of-living adjustment from the state for 2007-
   2008. Where did that money go?


          How can other school districts give raises?
   Other school districts--like nearby Long Beach*, Burbank, Glendale, and
   Pasadena--are giving employees raises this year to help their income keep
   pace with inflation. If they can afford it, so can LAUSD.


          What happened to the $700 million surplus?
   LAUSD reported a year-ending surplus of $700 million to the state for
   2006-2007. Where did that money go?

          What is LAUSD doing to trim bureaucratic fat?
   District officials think it's fine and dandy to hide behind the state fiscal cri-
   sis to deny you a hard-earned raise, but what are they doing to balance
   the budget so it doesn't impact the classroom? LAUSD officials tell UTLA
   leaders that they want to shield the classroom from cuts. If that's true,
   how about dedicating the next "LAUSD Special Report" to a detailed
   accounting of how they are going to do that? The plan must include dis-
   missing high-priced consultants, trimming excess administrative costs,
   dramatically reducing the local District budgets, and cutting any and all
   costs that don't directly support our schools and our students.



   *In the Tentative Agreement stage.