Frequently Asked Questions

We know you have questions about how our schools are funded, how our money is raised and where it goes. These are some of the most common questions we receive. If you are interested in learning more or you have additional questions about the Foundation, contact our Executive Director.

If you are interested in learning more or you have additional questions about the La Cañada Unified School District, you can contact them here.

School Funding

• Isn't the State Lottery supposed to help fund our schools?
• What about the parcel tax we just passed? Wasn't that supposed to solve the problem?
• Aren't we supposed to get federal funding?
• What about applying for grants?
• Beverly Hills Unified became a "Basic Aid" district and gained extra funding. Could that work for us?
• What happens to K-3 class sizes if we do not raise enough funding to offset the cuts we are facing?
• Will AP classes be eliminated as a result of funding cuts?

The La Cañada Unified School District

• How much do we spend on administrative salaries?
• Does the District have assets it can sell in order to better fund the schools?
• Can the District charge fees for sports, art or AP classes?
• Who are "permit" kids, and how are they admitted into our school system?
• Why does the District accept permit kids? Doesn't that just crowd the classrooms?
• Why can't we bring in the "Sagebrush" kids?
• What's the "Romero Bill," and how does it affect us?
• Why can't the District lay off teachers based on merit, rather than seniority?
• Can the District hire non-union teachers?
• Are our teachers making sacrifices along with the rest of us?
• If the District is so short on funding, why is it spending money on new construction at our schools?

Isn't the State Lottery supposed to help fund our schools?

The lottery is required to forward at least a third of their proceeds to K-12 education. While that amount generates nearly a billion a year for the state's K-12 budget, on a percentage basis it's a drop in the bucket. Take a look at this page at EdSource (which is an excellent site for reference on these issues): http://www.edsource.org/data_lottery-k-12-ed.html

Unfortunately, the contributions provided by the lottery are also dwarfed by the massive cuts that have occurred at the state level (so the lottery adds a billion, and then the state takes away well over that amount).

LCUSD does receive a small amount from the lottery, but the number is already incorporated in its ever-dwindling budget.

What about the parcel tax we just passed? Wasn't that supposed to solve the problem?

The parcel tax began generating approximating $900,000 a year in funding for the LCUSD in 2009-2010. However, since the passage of the parcel tax, the State of California cut our funding again and again, and we expect additional cuts soon. The income from the parcel tax has been offset by cuts in restricted funding from the state, as well as by our ongoing decrease in enrollment.

Prior to passage, four attempts to pass a parcel tax had failed. It is possible to extend and expand the parcel tax, but it will require another general election and a 66% approval in order to pass. In any event, funds from a new parcel tax will not assist the District for 2011-2012.

Aren't we supposed to get federal funding?

From 2008-2011 we received $3,456,142 in federal funding, as part of the various recovery programs created by Congress.  By June 30, 2010, all had been spent except $945,324, which is being spent in the current school year. Most of the funding was used to retain employees, including teachers, in order to keep class sizes down.

However, that funding source has ended. LCUSD does not expect to receive any money from the federal government in the future.

What about applying for grants?

Unfortunately, we are eligible for very few grants for public school districts. Grant money is almost always tied to economically disadvantaged communities and underperforming schools.

Beverly Hills Unified became a "Basic Aid" district and gained extra funding. Could that work for us?

Our District has looked into converting to a Basic Aid district.  Unfortunately, they learned that the total assessed property value within LCUSD boundaries is a fraction of the amount necessary to make this option work for our community.  Even so, they have instructed staff to review the calculations each year to determine if we ever cross-over.

Essentially, communities that adopt Basic Aid stature have major commercial and/or multi-family real estate in addition to high residential property values. These properties boost their assessed values sufficiently high to deliver greater funding to their schools than they would otherwise receive.  Beverly Hills is a perfect example, with some of the most valuable office and retail properties in the state, plus numerous high-rise condos on Wilshire Blvd.

Meanwhile, La Cañada has relatively very little commercial real estate, making us a poor candidate for Basic Aid, even though our home values are relatively high.

What happens to K-3 class sizes if we do not raise enough funding to offset the cuts we are facing?

If we raise what we typically do ($1.1 million), we will face class sizes of 30 to 1 in K-3. If we raise approximately $3 million, it's likely we can hold at our current K-3 class sizes, which are around 24 to 1. If we raise $6 million to get back to the benchmark year of 2007-2008, we can finally return our K-3 class sizes to the District's preferred level of 20 to 1. However, these amounts must be raised each year for at least the next five years in order to maintain the class size improvements.

Will AP classes be eliminated as a result of funding cuts?

There has been no discussion of cutting AP courses if additional funds are not raised.  However, one should expect class size for all core courses, AP or otherwise, at LCHS 7-12, to rise to the maximum currently allowed by contract with LCTA… 36 students per class… if additional funds are not raised.

How much do we spend on administrative salaries?

You can view '09-'10 salaries online for LCUSD's credentialed staff, including administrators. Data for unified Districts like ours starts on page 28.

In general, our staff has been moved from where it once was — top quartile compensation — to below median among the 47 unified districts in Los Angeles County. 

In addition to Superintendent Stratton's salary being the lowest among the 47 districts, our K-6 principals average out to 30th position (p. 31), our middle school principal salary is ranked 32nd (p. 32), our high school principal is #41 (p. 33).  Notice that we are one of two districts among the 47 that has no middle school assistant principals (p. 34), while our assistant principal compensation at the high school level is ranked #44 (p. 35).  We have not had assistant principals at the elementary schools for a number of years.

Does the District have assets it can sell in order to better fund the schools?

The District owns the Foothill Intermediate School and the Oak Grove Elementary site.  However, currently, they receive significant rental income from FIS and Oak Grove (approx. $1.7 million annually) that they have come to depend on for operating budget purposes. The smaller Palm Drive property does not provide current income. It would be one-time money if sold.

Can the District charge fees for sports, art or AP classes?

The District cannot legally charge for sports or extracurricular activities.  Typically, however, parents donate funds to cover costs.  For example, outside of certain coaches’ salaries, all athletic programs’ costs are covered by participating parent donations, along with groups like Boosters, band and choral parents’ associations, etc.  The District also cannot legally charge for an instructional class, but many of the supplies are paid for directly by participating parents through donations.  Through these donations, the district covers various related costs well in excess of $2 million a year.

Who are "permit" kids, and how are they admitted into our school system?

"Permit" kids, or out-of-district children, are students who do not reside in La Cañada, but who are granted a permit to attend La Cañada public schools.

If a student is released by their home district (i.e. legally allowed by their home district to attend our schools), then LCUSD is free to accept them, subject to our district’s policies of acceptance and priorities.

LCUSD is an Allen Bill district, which means that if a parent is employed in the boundaries of the LCUSD district, then LCUSD can accept their child into the district without a release from their home district. In this case only, once the student is accepted into LCUSD, the parents do not need to reapply each year (as long as the parent continues to be employed in the boundaries of the LCUSD district and the student adheres to the discipline code).

If the parent is not employed in the boundaries of the district, then they would need to reapply each year, and they would also need to obtain a release from their home district each year.

Siblings are not automatically accepted by our district nor are they automatically released (if such release is required) from their home district.  Every child is a stand alone case, although having a sibling in LCUSD can factor into the decision by the home district and LCUSD.

Out-of-district students are accepted according to the following priority ranking:

1. District residents
2. Full-time employees of LCUSD
3. Part-time employees of LCUSD
4. Full-time employed within district boundaries
5. Romero Bill students
6. Others

All non-resident student applications to the district are subject to availability.  This includes class size, impacts on programs (e.g. special ed., ELL, GATE, etc. availability) and facilities.

Finally, permit students’ ongoing acceptance in our district is predicated on proper attendance and conformity with discipline and other policies.

Why does the District accept permit kids? Doesn't that just crowd the classrooms?

Out-of-district students can actually decrease class sizes.

Our district, like every public school district in California, receives funding from the state on a per-student basis. The more students we have, the more money we have. By allowing in a limited number of out-of-district kids, LCUSD is able to retain additional teachers and reduce the overall number of students per class.

If LCUSD did not allow any out-of-district students, the resulting teacher layoffs would have certainly led to larger class sizes, particularly in K-3, than we are currently experiencing.

However, LCUSD also acknowledges that it is a community school district, and it must primarily serve the residents of La Cañada. Currently, only 10% of LCUSD enrollment comes from out-of-district students. This is a relatively low percentage compared to similar districts. San Marino, for instance, which is the top district in the State, currently has approximately 15% out-of-district students.

Why can't we bring in the "Sagebrush" kids?

Unfortunately, the La Cañada school board does not have the unilateral authority to grant permits to Sagebrush students.  These families reside within the boundaries of the Glendale school district and Glendale alone has the power to release its students, with the exception of transfers under the Allen bill.

Glendale mounted an unwavering defense of its boundaries throughout a nine-year legal battle over this issue that was resolved in Glendale’s favor in 2000.  There is no evidence that Glendale’s position has changed.

Separately, the Allen bill recently adopted by the La Cañada school district does not require a release from the student’s home district.  However, the Allen bill is restricted to situations in which families want their children to attend schools in the same district in which they are employed on a full-time basis.  The bill does not allow us to apply its provisions to specific geographic areas like Sagebrush.

The La Cañada school board has considered and rejected conversion to a District of Choice and a Charter District, either of which might have impacted Sagebrush students. 

However, the enrollment process for Districts of Choice, which essentially are open enrollment districts, would have prohibited any preference for specific geographic areas like Sagebrush.

Conversion to a Charter District was also rejected after a lengthy review for a number of reasons including lower per student funding and significant obstacles to conversion including the required approval of a majority of existing union employees.

What's the "Romero Bill," and how does it affect us?

The Romero Bill allows students in bottom performing schools to apply to any higher performing school.  The Board established a policy in consultation with the Los Angeles County Department of Education to conform with the new bill.  County staff members have verbally approved key provisions of the new policy. The District is currently in compliance with the law and may receive applications from poorer performing schools.  They must apply in accordance with the District's established, compliant procedures and within established deadlines.  The District's priority order accepts Romero Bill applicants only after residents, District employees, and those employed full and part-time in the district.  Romero Bill applicants are subject to space, program, resource availability and the same standards and requirements as all other permit students.

Why can't the District lay off teachers based on merit, rather than seniority?

LCUSD can’t put a merit-based tenure system in place. California State law specifies tenure and many other teacher-related labor issues, including the requirement to lay off strictly by seniority.

Can the District hire non-union teachers?

By state law, a school district is not permitted to make a permanent hire unless they negotiate with a “qualified bargaining” entity.  Only the existing unions qualify under this law.  A teacher can decide not to join the union, but their contract is still negotiated by the union.

Are our teachers making sacrifices along with the rest of us?

Yes. As of their new contract, their health and welfare benefits will no longer increase with statutory cost-of-living-adjustments (COLA) but instead with actual, funded cost-of-living-adjustments.  This is a material concession on the part of La Cañada Teachers that should save the District significant costs annually for as long as the state continues to 'deficit' our COLA.  Also, the district will no longer offer early retirement benefits to employees hired after Sep. 11, 2011.  Additionally, the District has offered an early retirement incentive plan to the longest tenured and most highly paid teachers.

If the District is so short on funding, why is it spending money on new construction at our schools?