Funding Schools to Optimize Learning

This episode was recorded during the ongoing negotiations between LAUSD and UTLA, highlighting how teacher salaries, working conditions, and district funding directly affect classroom quality and student success. 

UPDATE - Strike was averted! Teachers ratified the agreement as of April 24, 2026!

Featuring insights from union leader James Riley, we explore key challenges faced by educators and what parents need to know.

Key topics:

• The upcoming LAUSD teacher strike: causes and implications
• Teacher salary issues and high turnover rates within 5 years
• The importance of parental support and informed advocacy
• The impact of low wages on teacher burnout and classroom quality
• Excessive testing and its effect on instruction and student engagement
• District spending priorities: private contracts vs. student resources
• Underfunding of essential school support staff like counselors and custodians
• Challenges in special education and class size ratios
• The role of outside vendors and privatization of school services
• How district funding choices influence educational equity and student outcomes

Transcript

0:29

Thank you for joining us for the Falling for Learning podcast. Of course, we're all about how to get that next generation together, making sure they're on track for success. And today is a special episode because we're going to talk about what's going on in some of the public schools, specifically schools that are represented by UTLA. That's United Teachers Los Angeles. And there are some negotiation issues and there may be a strike And we're going to talk today to a union leader about what this means for our kids. What are the teachers demanding? Or what is the district's pushback? All of the things so that you can make an informed decision as a parent, as an educator, as a caregiver, right? What do we need to do for our kids? Okay, so. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Mr. James Riley, he was on the show before talking as a restorative justice teacher. He told us about how he fell in love with learning, but another hat that he wears is as a UTLA rep for one of the local elementary schools in Los Angeles. So he's gonna talk to us all about this. We wanna get that inside scoop, wanting to hear what it is that we're facing. And what are we trying to get for teachers? Now, full disclosure, I am a UTLA member. And of course, I am, you know, I could be affected by going on the strike. It's not something that people take lightly. And so we that's why we really wanted to be clear with you all about what is on the table, what we're advocating for, for our students and the schools and all of the things. OK, stay tuned. Thank Okay, so Mr. Riley, tell us about what you do as a union leader at an elementary school. Well, first of all, thank you for the invitation to join your uh show. uh Such a uh pertinent topic that is necessary to discuss right now because like you said, we're days away from a possible strike. And as a chapter chair leader at my school sites, uh I kind of make my members aware of what the union is saying and how the members can get behind what the union is saying. uh you know, great time to be a teacher, I guess, uh because a lot of these things are taking place up and down the state. And so uh we're just another one of those school districts who uh are actually standing up for what we believe in. uh And so some of the main issues that we're looking at is salary, of course, uh where you have 21 percent of L.A. U.S. teachers, they earn salaries that qualify for low income housing. we have 35 % of new educators leave the profession within five years or at least Los Angeles Unified. And then LAUSD average, the average educator, the ranking for the pay ranks is 18 out of 21 and that's comparable districts up and down the state. So. uh You know, it's kind of crazy that uh LAUSD is on the verge of striking. And so we're trying to do everything that we can to avert a strike. No one wants to strike. First of all, let's say that no one wants to strike. No one. I'm like, it's gonna come together before that, we're not gonna have to. That's what I wanna say, that's what I'm trying to manifest. Like it's going to come together. ah So Mr. Riley, as you're listening, James Riley, I'm used to calling you. um As I'm listening to you, and if we're thinking from the lens of a parent, right? So we're talking about with some educators, salary issues, leaving the profession. um How does that impact the classroom? So let's talk about those things like, if I'm a parent, right? So we know what the educator part is, but as a parent, why should I care that maybe the teacher should need a raise or teachers leave in five years? Why is that something that, how does that impact and what should, why should I care as a parent? Absolutely. So parents are definitely the backbone. I mean, because we need the parent support in the classroom. And so parents need to be aware of what is going on with the district and the fundings and the monies that they're using uh to support, you know, the local school districts and the neighborhood schools. And so there's so many things that have been happening, you know, across the news. You know, there was this one uh instance where uh know, LA, L.A. USD employee mishandled and was money laundering. This is like, OK, this is kind of crazy that the school district is doing this. And so uh we really want to get parents involved and uh have them make an informed decision in terms of, uh you know, supporting the teachers. And because ultimately the teachers are teaching the kids in the classroom and without the parents support, then it's not going to work. And so when I was in the classroom, you know, as a self-contained teacher, uh I wanted the parent support. I wanted to communicate the ups and downs with that particular child or, you know, the class, especially during parent conference and open house. You really want to build a rapport. And so if you're speaking, teaching the kids in the classroom, you want to develop that that the partnership, I call it. And so it's very important for parents to kind of know what's going on with the school district. And so because I'm gonna pause you for one second. I really like what you're saying about having the parents support, letting the parents know what's going on. But when we're linking it to salary, I think that's important. So something that ah I didn't hear you mention yet, but I do know uh is that many, many, many teachers in LAUSD because they live in Los Angeles, which is a very high cost of living area and their income qualifies them for low income. Mm-hmm. means that lots of teachers are taking on extra jobs, right? And so the way that translates is that they are not fully able to um have all of their time and energy to teaching the way that they may want to, right? Because most of us see teaching as a career, right? And it's also a calling, right? Yes. And it's something that we do because we're passionate about it. We care about kids. We care about the community. And I'm always talking about that next generation. Mm-hmm. And when you have to supplement your income with other jobs and other things that obviously, we're not machines, that obviously splits some of our focus and takes away from all the things that we're able to give to teaching. So that's a concern. And then we're linking that in, you said earlier, when there's a five years with teachers leaving within five years, like a high turnover rate, can you tell us how that to the quality of teaching and the quality of teacher relationships and that type of thing. I have a stat for you since you were talking about, uh you know, teachers having to have a second job. So about 30 % of LAUSD educators have a second job just to make ends meet. So you're talking about, you know, you've been in a classroom from 7.30 to maybe three o'clock. You go home, if you have a family, you know, you take care of family and then you're off to a second job if it's at a brick and mortar place like You know, I've worked with some teachers who worked at Trader Joe's or they worked in a restaurant, you know, waiting on being a server or something like that. so, you know, if it's fortunate enough where you're working online, that's still a job, right? You have to make space. You have to make time for that. you know, 30 percent of our teachers. And like I said earlier, you know, 35 percent of the teachers leave L.A. U.S.D. within five years. And so uh speaking to the quality of education for that particular teacher, if they're doing that, they're not able to uh you know, look over and review some of the things that is necessary for them to teach that next day. uh And so for instance, you know, there's a part of our contract where, yeah, we're eight hour employees, but we can spend the other two hours away from the school site. And so a lot of what a lot of educators do, you'll see teachers rolling their carts, you know, to their card and they're putting the carts in the car. And what are they? Excuse me. What are they doing? They're grading papers. They're looking at assessments. They're reading over writing, lesson planning, all that stuff. And so it really takes more than just the two hours. And so if you sat down from six to eight on a given day, you're gonna use a lot of time, especially with the curriculum that's going on now, some of the curriculum that we're using, it's brand new. And so teachers need to become... it takes more time and teachers need to become comfortable with figuring out what they're gonna do. And the whole thing with uh testing, eye ready and uh differentiated instruction, you got different levels. so it's a lot, it's a lot for teachers. so uh yes, if teachers are worried about their pay and trying to make ends meet, going to a second job, then they're not going to have that time and dedication to really put into their craft, their career, to help the kids get where they need to be. And that's so interesting you use the word craft because yes, teaching is craft. Teaching is an artistic element to teaching, the creativity that you bring, your personality that you bring, the relationships, all of those things. And then when we're thinking about teachers burning out within five years due to low pay, maybe working two jobs, different things like this, then when we're thinking about the quality of educators that we have, right? then they're gone. There's a new first-year teacher and it it's a learning gap. It's a learning curve as people come into the profession and that's the five years you know that's when people are kind of starting to get their expertise and then they're gone right. Yeah. and then we got to start that over again. So the teachers as you know, you may have had experience as a parent where the teacher was new and you know, there's different levels to uh the quality of a brand new teacher. Every usually everyone is earnest, right? uh To really do a good job, but it doesn't always come together the way it should. em And. you know, our students suffer. But if we're having a strong teaching profession, I could get help from a teacher like Mr. Riley, if I'm new, I could get help from, and I could get past those years with a lot of support and it'll be the best for students. And then, you know, then I'm in my expertise area, you know, continuously growing and developing, you know, but just staying in that uh one to five years. You're not getting the high quality that you could have if you're having career teachers and teachers bring so many other things. You see Mr. Riley wears other hats uh and uh you know, that's what happens when you are dedicated to the profession. You don't have to work extra jobs that way. You can bring so much extra programs and creativity and uh really get to the heart of issues that may be uh causing students to lag behind. Thank I have another stat I wanna throw at you. During the 2024-25 school year, we're talking about keeping teachers in the classroom. There's estimated that more than 700 classroom positions were not filled by permanent teachers. And that's because folks are leaving. Folks are like, look, it's too much pressure because of all of the testing, that's an issue. Yes. much pressure because of the lack of salary. uh Too much pressure, not enough time to prepare and get into the creative bag that teachers need to get into because you just don't want to be a sage on the stage and be like, okay, let's turn to page 52 and read. Okay, so-and-so. No, you got to bring some personality. uh And you want the kids to like you because if they like you, they're going to do what you ask them to do. They will follow you. But if you're just a regular, oh, okay, kind of a robotic kind of situation and you lack personality, it's gonna be a struggle. And with some of our kids, you know, some of our kids need some extra attention, supports, as we call it. And if you don't get that, you know, the parent on your side in terms of buying in to what the classroom curriculum is all about, then you're gonna have issues for the rest of the school year. Yeah, I mean, it just said so distinctly, yeah, succinctly, like thank you for bringing that up. It's just so important, right, to think about all of these issues and how they relate to what's happening in the school. I have the falling for learning podcast because I believe that's the secret ingredient that kids are able to have fun that kids are excited and engaged and that's where you could get them learning not that I've made you do this and um You know, like you said that robotic like let's go to page two next. Let's do to this next Like it's really about fun and engaging and using that education to do the things that they want to do, right? To advocate for themselves, to, you know, build something, to do something different, learn something new. yeah, yeah, I mean, here's the thing, know, teachers, know, going back to what some of the teacher demands are for the district, just asking, you know, kind of simple things. And so from a parental point of view, uh teachers are asking or fighting for more counselors, right? More social workers, more schools, psychologists and school supports. Of course, we're asking, again, we talked about a better pay to keep and retain m educators in our school district. We're looking for more arts and physical education in schools, especially in our secondary classes, secondary meaning six uh through 12th grade classes, middle school and high school, more support and resources for special education, and then also support for immigrant students and their families. And so there's so much money being spent. on other things, And I'll just drop this stat right here. Technology, right? Technology is we're living in the information age. Technology is very, very important. Don't get me wrong. However, you know, when the district is dropping $1.9 billion for uh for-profit tech companies, when some of those things can be used in the classroom. uh Also, uh you know, from our union, they said that almost 1300 contracts were given to outside vendors for technology and other things. Now, amount of money fails me, but I do have another stat says about 10 billion was committed to private contracts since 2022, 10 billion. Now, you know, that's outside stuff. That's outside folks coming in to the school district saying, hey, we need you to do X, Y, and Z. That's a lot of money, right? And then the last thing, you know, to start the beginning of this school year, $5 billion was just kind of set aside in reserves instead of investing in student resources. And so now, you know, we've gone through at the various school sites, they've gone through and said, okay, this is your budget for next year. And then of course, a lot of things were cut, but yet the school district is sitting on five and I believe the number has grown, right? And so they sit on $5 billion. And they said this same thing two years ago or three years ago in 2023, when we had six point something billion dollars, they were, if we pay everybody, if we get all the supports that we need, then the school district is gonna go bankrupt and we're not gonna have any money. um Did the school district go bankrupt? You know, I mean, so it's just like, come on now, it's a lot. so we really have to you know, really Be You know, we need to question right in our democracy We need to question figure out where that money is going figure out if that's the best use Outside vendors are great. They can bring great things to the campus But should it be at the expense of the teachers that are there day to day the counselors that are there day to day, right? And of course because the teachers provide those resources to students, right? The people who are there every day with the students, the outside vendors might be there a couple of days a week or they might be there for an eight week stretch, but teachers are there regularly providing resources for students every day. And if you're undersourcing them, you're under resourcing students. And that is one of the things that we really need to be thinking about when we're thinking about our students, right? Like I was thinking about how does the teachers union and what's going on. relate to what's going on with our students because we often spend money to buy snacks or uh treats or different things for kids. Like we just had a holiday or we're on holiday right now, but that's a time that we'll make a little celebration for the kids and reward them for the work that they've been doing. again, teachers are bringing their whole selves to the classroom. They are bringing their own money. in to do certain things, certain things we ask for. They say they don't have the money for it. uh So it, you know, it's just kind of like understood that we do put money in. There's even like tax breaks for teachers automatically because they know that we come out of pocket to support students. So again, it is important to understand when you are under resourcing a teacher, you're under resourcing the students that are there with the teachers every day. uh So, you know, we really want to, yeah, bring that to you. and then, you know, I know folks will say, you know, it's all about the money, but you know, it is about the money. It's also about being involved and informed, especially, uh you know, people might say this is a political kind of situation, but you really wanna know what the school is, or school district is doing with all of the funding that they're getting. And you want the best for your kids, right? And so, uh we're talking about class size ratios. I know for upper grade or secondary, middle and high school, some of those schools have large numbers of students in their classes. studies show if you have a large number of students in your class, then it might not be as effective because kids can kind of hide behind one another, especially if you got like a 40 or 45, a class roster of 40 or 45. That's a lot of bodies to manage. year, I've had a group of students all year, 40 students, 41 students, it's happened. It has happened. So it's like, and you can't meet the needs of all, we're not robots. We don't have assistants. We don't have secretaries, you know? It's like, this is for me to manage and I can manage all right, but of course I could do a much better job with a lower class size. And so it's something that, you know, Sometimes I think you know we're getting away from some of those things and they and we really need to remind them like if there's too much testing then that is Not enough time to actually teach like we need more time for teaching less time for testing we need lower class sizes, which means maybe hire more teachers or bring down those ratios right instead of Saying oh well, this is what we're going to do. We're gonna put 40 to 1 or this is gonna work, you know, uh and they, you know, they overtax teachers that way too, right? So we're talking about burnout. Yeah. Or, you know, when we can't staff teachers, right? Because of the conditions and people have left and uh then you have substitutes, which substitutes, uh know, sometimes they don't have the uh skill level sometimes to manage students. We have personally seen, you know, the classes be really wild because teachers are human, teachers might be ill or sick or again like we said sometimes and that's when I came in the district we would always have an unfilled position. I came into one of those unfilled positions and stayed but yeah. How long did you stay in that unfilled position? So it was year round school back then and the kids had started in. July, like July 1st or whatever. And then I came in August, about mid August I came and there were some, you know, rotating of substitutes and really getting the class together was a challenge, right? Because the classroom, when there is not any structure for a long time, the classroom becomes a place, yes, it becomes a place where kids may fight in the classroom, where they throw. things in the classroom where they are you know playing all the time getting out of the seat whenever they want you know because they are used to not trusting the teachers right and they don't trust the substitutes that come in and out in and out right but I stayed with that class for the rest of the school year but I came in in August and they had a series of substitutes before that and uh they interviewed me them on the right track. It was a struggle though, right? It was a struggle. Absolutely. But you know, like I said, I, you know, this is one of this is my calling. So I, you know, I wasn't even thinking about quitting, but I definitely had other classes and people start like other colleagues. And I looked around, I was like, oh, what happened to that teacher? What happened to you know, so a couple of them didn't make it through. So and it happened every year at my school in South LA where I started. I So it was a rough, but yeah, that's what the kids needed. Someone that was steady, someone that's gonna be there, that's committed to them, and that's really uh something that we really, want to bring to the surface for parents, other educators around the country who might be watching. uh Just keeping those things in mind, of course. There's different ways to support the teachers. uh people get out and march with the teachers, some bring donuts or cookies. But I really, really, really hope, really, really, really, really hope that everything's gonna come together and there won't be a strike. But those are the things that are on the line. Yeah, it's either, it's either or. Either they pay us before, reluctantly, right? Get the contract done because we've been working without a contract since, ooh wee, it expired last, at the end of last school year, 2025, 2024, 25. So we've been working, yeah, it's a long time. then we haven't even mentioned. Some of the other unions with the administrators union, voted to strike. Local 99, they voted to strike. And so it's like, okay, these schools might be shut down, but we're just asking for simple things. I have a few more demands. I just wanna make the audience aware. So PSAs, are basically our attendance counselors, they make sure. the kids are coming to school, they'll run campaigns to kind of incentivize the kids to come who are struggling to get to school. So we want more of those. We want uh more PSWs, which is our psychiatric social workers. uh We want more school psychologists. And so right now the district is saying, hey, we're glad that you want those things, but it's not in the budget. We talked about arts and PE prep time for elementary teachers. And then get this. we're just asking for cleaner schools, right? So, uh you know, fully stocked bathrooms, which is true because on our campus we have three wonderful folks who take care of our campus, but they're taxed. I mean, it's like, you know, one of our, you know, the main uh manager, campus manager, you know, he gets calls back to back to back to back. Hey, can you come over here? Can you do this, that and the third? And this is like, man, he's just all over the place and nothing really. It's a struggle to get things done because everybody's always calling on him. And then the second guy, he'll come in, he's taxed. The third guy, he'll come in. And so it's just crazy. But we're just asking for simple things. And then it's simple. Absolutely. That's another extension of teacher duties, right? Because when we are short on people to help clean the school, guess who? Because I don't want your kids coming into a dirty classroom. I remember some years ago, I had a problem with roaches. And whatever was happening, I would come in my class. No, no, I'm not mentioning the school. uh I would come in class and I... notice this happened like a week or two weeks in a row where there was a ring of like dead roaches and stuff around the class. So I would have to do, I would have to clean up before I got to what I was supposed to be making copies, grading papers, calling parents, know, organize. I had to sweep up these dead things because I knew that that would be a distraction to learning. would be, you know, so that took away from the things that I needed to do. for asking for you to fully staff the schools with someone to clean the schools, enough people, because that is going to have the quality. And depending on, some teachers don't have the mobility to do that, right? What if I was disabled? I may not be able to go and sweep all around the class before the school day began. And then therefore your kid would come in, they see roaches on the floor. Are they focused on what I'm teaching when there's dead roaches on the floor? Probably not. Probably not. So these are the things that, you know, we just, when there's not an extra person to do nursing, the different staff at the school that's there, our clerical staff, sometimes we have supplies. So uh things happen and we, if you're not fully staffing the schools with these extra uh essential school workers, instead we're giving them money to this contracts or whatever, then, you know, again, you're under resourcing. the school, the employees, then you're under resourcing the students. Absolutely. Yeah. They can't focus because they are worried about, you know, other things other than what they should be. Exactly, yeah. Yeah, so I mean, you those are, and then, you know, last thing, just special education and inclusion. So uh under special education, you know, folks just might think that it is students with disabilities where it's not just students with disabilities, it's our gifted population, right? And so, you know, being able to differentiate between, you know, folks who are on task and they know how to do it, okay, let's give them some stuff to do where we know that they're gonna do it. And then, you know, let's kind of cater and... uh to a folks who need a little bit more assistance. So here's the case in point. One class, I've had a friend, a long time friend, she's had a class, 20 kids in a class. This is special education class. The cap is 14, cap is 14, she has 20. And so again, you talk about the quality of education for those students, it's crazy. our union is just asking for simple things, uh things that should be taken care of, you know, because again, we're trying to, we're here helping the kids get what they need to get, uh you know, trying to help them to get to grade level if they're not at grade level. And if they're at grade level, that's kind of helped them to push them, give them some project-based activities where we know that they can perform, you know. So it's across the board, not just our special education with, you know, folks who have. IEPs and things of that nature. But we're also looking at the folks who are able to do on their own. And so we want to push them forward as well and have them working to the best of their capability and capacity. So that's kind of what we're looking at. So those are some of the big hot topics um with this upcoming strike that's supposed to take place in our school district, April 14th. And we're just hoping so much that that does not happen because everything's gonna come together. So. together. am doing a shout out to any other people who want to talk about these issues or any other questions you have. And we know that public opinion is on a range of things. I'm obviously coming with my opinion and our viewpoint. But if you have, I know I've had a board member on my show before, but if someone else has a viewpoint, we want to hear it because the public and the parents and other educators around the country, we're all happy the same goal, to educate kids, to make sure. So we want to have, you know, we need to have these ideas to be talked about and to considered and all of that because it is for that next generation. So we're not just asking for more money just because we like to get rich and we know that it's not a profession in which you're going to get rich. Again, we do this because this is our calling and um You know, we are asking for some basic things. Our students deserve the best and we are asking for em us to, you know, for you to give us some basic things because the teachers can then bring, you know, if we can have it at a base level, we as teachers can bring that sauce, right? To make the highest quality education possible. OK, all right. So thanks again to James Riley for coming on the show to really talk about what teachers need and how that specifically connects to the quality of education for kids, making sure our next generation is on track for learning and on track for success, right? So thanks again, everyone out there for listening, tuning in, watching, either way it goes. Make sure you're doing something today that is giving your child the competitive advantage. Have a great day. Take care.