Action: USA and LL propose funding and redistribution changes for the LA Unified School District

Westwood residents will vote on two referendums affecting the Los Angeles Unified School Board in the November election.

One of the initiatives – Measure US – would authorize a $9 billion bond to fund technology, repair and construction projects, with the bond repaid through a tax on homeowners. The other initiative, Measure LL, will change the way school board redistricting works to make it independent of the LA City Council.

Money raised through Measure US will go toward things like new interactive whiteboards, safety buzzers, furniture, health care facilities and climate control systems, said school board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin. The bond is capped so it cannot be used for staff salaries, program or curriculum costs funded by the state and federal government, she said.

“We have about $80 billion worth of infrastructure and technology needs, and currently only about $8 billion is in the works,” Ortiz Franklin said. “We still have a long way to go here. The $9 billion we are asking for will get us a step closer.”

Ortiz Franklin added that she believes the bond is necessary to repair schools and improve learning conditions.

However, Susan Shelley, vice president of communications for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said her organization opposes the measure because she believes the district — which has seen declining enrollment — could instead raise money for renovations through austerity measures.

Shelley said she believes school board members don't want to put forward plans to cut costs — including by consolidating schools in response to declining enrollment — because they fear political backlash. She added that she believes the board should have prioritized building renovations in its past spending.

“This is a huge tax increase for the people of LAUSD,” Shelley said. “Why haven’t they set these high priorities with the money they’ve already spent? Given that enrollment is declining and expected to continue to decline, what is the plan for school consolidation? They don’t have one.”

LAUSD has received over $25 billion in bond funding since 2000, having approved $7 billion in bonds in both 2008 and 2020 — money that Ortiz Franklin said the district is still in the process of spending. According to LAUSD, 565,479 students were enrolled in the district during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Capital projects such as renovations would be funded entirely through bonds, Ortiz Franklin said. She added that there is currently a 30-year waiting list for classroom repayment and that not all classrooms are currently compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Ortiz Franklin said paying off the bond would result in every L.A. homeowner paying about $9 extra in taxes.

“We're grateful that people are saying, 'Yes, I'm happy to give $9 a month to help improve some of these facilities that literally can only be paid for through bonds,'” she said.

However, Shelley said she believes the tax increase could significantly increase the cost of living in Southern California because many landlords would pass the costs on to tenants. She added that she believes the investment in technology is not enough to justify taking out a 30-year loan, as many of the items purchased will not last 30 years.

“There hasn't been enough public input or outreach about it and how the money will be distributed, and it's a huge tax increase on the people of Los Angeles at a time when everyone is already paying higher electric bills, higher gas bills and more.” Grocery bills. And that will increase property taxes,” Shelley said.

The US measure was also controversial because its proposal was only submitted two days before the deadline.

The decision to file the measure shortly before the deadline was tactical in nature to make it more difficult for opponents to prepare their campaigns, Ortiz Franklin said. She added that by submitting the proposal late, the board hoped to hamper attempts to characterize the bond's increased spending as unnecessary.

“There are some people who are opposed to tax increases in general, and the sooner you let people know about it, the stronger a campaign can be prepared and executed against you,” Ortiz Franklin said.

Shelley said she believes attempts to avoid scrutiny of the measure are dishonest and an attempt to mislead voters about how widespread opposition to tax increases is.

D. Michael Hamner, chairman of the LAUSD Bond Oversight Committee, also said during an Aug. 7 school board meeting that committee members did not feel they were adequately consulted on the measure because of the late filing. He added that while he understands the district has urgent needs, there hasn't been enough consultation on the bond.

“The BOC … has valuable insights to share that could have informed policymakers and helped ensure that this bond measure was structured as effectively as possible,” Hamner said at the meeting. “The process by which this bond measure was developed and proposed, without consultation with key stakeholders such as ourselves and therefore outside the public eye, prevents us from providing meaningful comment.”

The Bond Oversight Committee did not respond to the Daily Bruin's request for comment.

Westwood voters will also vote on Measure LL, which would change the way school district maps are created.

Ortiz Franklin said the measure — for which she co-wrote official arguments — was introduced after a recording of City Council members discussing gerrymandering along racial lines was leaked in October 2022. She added that she supports the measure because she hopes it will succeed in making elections fairer and more transparent.

“When elected officials appoint the people who look at the maps, who look at the numbers, who get to say which communities are represented by which elected official, that can get really nasty, sketchy and inappropriate,” Ortiz Franklin said. “It’s great to prevent something like this from happening by having as many objective processes as possible.”

[Related: Los Angeles City Council explores expansion, ethics reform]

Mindy Romero, director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at the University of Southern California, said independent redistricting will ensure elections are fair and increase trust.

“We have a long history of abuse by those who redraw the boundaries to favor them or at least ensure that they could be re-elected or their colleagues could be re-elected,” Romero said.

Alejandra Ponce De León, senior manager of political voice at Catalyst California, a racial justice advocacy group, said the change will also lead to more socioeconomic and racial diversity among the people who make redistricting decisions, ensuring school districts are fair and equitable are representatives.

L.A. City Councilmember Paul Krekorian also said school board redistricting is currently partially controlled by the city, which has different district boundaries than the school district. He added that Measure LL was proposed in line with Measure DD – a similar measure that would allow for independent redistricting for the City Council.

No objection arguments were presented in response to Measure LL. According to a financial impact statement written by City Administrator Matthew Szabo, the independent redistricting commission will cost LAUSD $6,161,630 over its lifespan.

As for the measures, Ortiz Franklin said she hopes UCLA students have the perseverance to research the issues and vote on local measures.

“I love that UCLA students are engaging and educating themselves and hopefully making some good decisions on behalf of their broader LA student base,” she said. “Many students were either LA Unified students, or perhaps they will remain in LA and their children will be in LA Unified schools at some point, and then they will benefit from the passage of this connection.”

Los Angeles residents can vote in person on Tuesday at locations including the Ackerman Student Union, the Hammer Museum or De Neve Plaza. Voters can also submit a mail-in ballot as long as it is postmarked by Election Day.

Contributing reporting by Daily Bruin senior staff writer Martin Sevcik.