Looming strike, budget deficit, and superintendent under federal investigation. What it could all mean for LAUSD's 400,000 students and staff
Imperfect Paradise
LAist Studios
4.5 • 535 Ratings
🗓️ 27 March 2026
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Los Angeles Unified School District could face an open-ended strike if multiple labor deals are not made by April 14. The potential strike comes at a time when the district faces significant challenges, including a budget deficit and a superintendent under FBI investigation. LAist K-12 Education Senior Reporter Mariana Dale breaks down how we got here and the consequences for the district's 400,000 students, their families, teachers, and staff.
Read Mariana’s full report at LAist.com.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Here at LAist, you ask, we answer. Our live events cover topics like climate change, cooking, and current events, to name a few. Or you can come see a live taping of our new hit show. Go fact yourself. Check out LAist.com slash events for more information. L.A.S. and the Moth are joining forces for a new live show and you have two chances to see it. The Moth main |
| 0:21.4 | stage shows are on Wednesday, April 15th in L.A., and Thursday, April 16th in Orange County. |
| 0:27.1 | Get tickets now at LAS.com slash events. This is in Perfect Paradise. I'm your host, Nereida Moreno. |
| 0:36.3 | It's been a tumultuous school year in the country's second largest public school district. |
| 0:41.3 | When school started last August, fewer students in Los Angeles Unified showed up in the wake of widespread immigration rates. |
| 0:48.3 | You could definitely feel the change even in the atmosphere. |
| 0:51.3 | It's like people are scared to go out. |
| 0:53.3 | Then in February of this year, a divided LAUSD board voted even in the atmosphere, it's like people are scared to go out. |
| 1:01.9 | Then in February of this year, a divided L-A-USD board voted to eliminate hundreds of jobs to stabilize the district's budget. |
| 1:04.9 | No one is excited to lay off anyone. |
| 1:08.0 | This is what we're doing to ensure the sustainability of this district. |
| 1:08.8 | No justice. |
| 1:10.0 | No peace. |
| 1:12.4 | Just one week later, |
| 1:19.3 | we begin with controversy around the LA Unified School District about the FBI's action at district headquarters of Superintendent Alberto Carvallo, and it is San Pedro |
| 1:24.6 | Home. |
| 1:29.9 | And now the district's largest unions are on the verge of a strike that could shut down schools indefinitely. |
| 1:35.9 | Are you fired up? |
| 1:38.1 | Are you fired up? |
| 1:40.2 | This week on Imperfect Paradise, we look at the collision of multiple challenges for L-A-USD, |
| 1:46.6 | what all this could mean for more than 400,000 students, school staff, and their families and communities, |
| 1:52.7 | and the existential questions around the future of Los Angeles Public Schools. |
... |
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