Los Angeles Unified came within hours of a strike — at a moment when the district could least afford it.
A last-minute deal early Tuesday kept schools open, narrowly averting what would have been a third major labor disruption in less than a decade for the nation’s second-largest school district.
The near-miss followed a three-day strike by school support workers in 2023, and a six-day teachers’ strike in 2019 — both of which disrupted instruction and highlighted tensions between the district and its labor unions.
The close call comes as LAUSD faces a cascade of challenges — declining enrollment, budget shortfalls and leadership instability after Superintendent Alberto Carvalho was placed on paid leave in February amid a federal investigation. A strike now, experts say, would have compounded those pressures, disrupting instruction for hundreds of thousands of students just as schools prepare for state testing.
A strike would have affected more than 400,000 students, many of whom rely on schools for meals, supervision and a consistent daily schedule.
In response to a media inquiry about attendance Tuesday, LAUSD officials said keeping campuses open made an immediate difference.
“Today, 100% more students were in school than would have been if a strike had not been averted,” a district spokesperson said in a written statement, adding that tens of thousands of students were able to continue accessing instruction, meals, and other essential campus resources.
“That matters, especially for students and families who rely on schools not just for academics, but for stability, connection, and essential services,” the spokesperson added.
For many families, even the uncertainty was disruptive.
Rachel Wagner, a district parent and co-leader of the parent advocacy group Parents Supporting Teachers, which has more than 30,000 members on Facebook, said she fielded a wave of questions as negotiations stretched late into the night.
“ It just seemed really poorly planned and inconsiderate that people really had to check their phones all night,” she said.
Even after a deal was reached in the early Tuesday morning, many families had already made contingency plans.
“ I liked that I was able to send my son to school today,” she said. “I just think the whole situation was really, really ugly. Telling families at 11:00 pm to check back on their website or social media for updates is ridiculous.”
District officials acknowledged the strain on families. Speaking at a Tuesday morning news conference, acting Superintendent Andres Chait expressed gratitude to parents for their patience.
“I’m a district parent — I know because I was getting all the emails last night, saying ‘what the heck is going on? Let us know,’” he said. “And you hung in there with us. We ask you for your patience. We ask you for your belief in us that we would get this done for you. Thank you. That will never be forgotten.”
Experts say the near-strike reflects deeper structural challenges facing the district.
Adrian Sandoval, vice president of policy and strategy at GPSN, a nonprofit organization focused on improving L.A.’s public schools, said LAUSD’s ongoing labor tensions are rooted in a structural deficit driven by declining enrollment and rising costs.
“As enrollment decreases, they are facing a more difficult budget situation each year,” he said, “given the fact that they have grown and the amount of employees that they have has grown, and the cost continues to increase because it’s not just about the decreasing enrollment, it’s also about the cost of doing business.”
He said districts are being asked to do more for students, particularly after the pandemic, while also facing higher costs of living for employees, making it harder to sustain operations.
“So I think it’s a larger structural issue where if the state does not fund schools and districts to a place where they can have real long-term sustainability and afford to pay, then they’re gonna find themselves in situations like this more consistently,” Sandoval said.
He said the agreement resolves the immediate crisis of keeping schools open but does little to address the underlying financial pressures.
“ The solution is not going to be negotiated here locally,” he said. “The solution around LAUSD and other districts being able to have the resources that they need is more of a state-level solution.”
He said he hopes the agreement can help reset relationships between the district and its labor partners and lead to greater collaboration in advocating for long-term funding.
Sandoval said avoiding a strike was critical, as disruptions to education can have lasting impacts.
District leaders acknowledged the financial and operational pressures behind the agreement.
Board President Scott Schmerelson said the district had to look “for every nickel and dime we can find to put toward salaries” to help avert a strike and avoid a major disruption.
“I guarantee that the state is going to give much more money,” he said. “California has more income coming in than they thought they were going to have. So there’s money, and we’re going to use it for the kids.”
Board member Kelly Gonez said preventing future disruptions will require more consistent collaboration with labor partners and earlier negotiations.
“We really need to tackle those issues up front, and to start laying the groundwork now for those future conversations,” she said.
She added that many of the tensions are tied to broader funding challenges, with pandemic-era aid expiring and ongoing revenue failing to keep pace with rising costs.
The near-strike also fits a familiar pattern.
This would have been the district’s third major labor disruption in less than a decade, raising questions about whether LAUSD’s labor and financial challenges are becoming cyclical.
“If there was a strike, I think it would’ve been like the third one in seven years,” Wagner said. “So it seemingly looks like to just a parent is that every time their contract is up, there’s always a looming threat of a strike. And to me that is just really, really acceptable.”