Amid concerns about the district’s fiscal health, declining enrollment and the ongoing impacts of federal immigration raids, Los Angeles Unified School District officials welcomed administrators back to a new school year by touting “historic” academic gains while stressing unity as the district confronts difficult decisions in the weeks and months ahead to keep its finances in order.
In his first “opening of schools” address since being tapped to lead the nation’s second-largest school district, Superintendent Andrés Chait announced that LAUSD is on track to show “record-setting academic achievement” for a second consecutive year in English language arts, mathematics and science, based on preliminary results from the 2026 California Smarter Balanced Assessment.
Preliminary data the California Department of Education has shared with the district show LAUSD making academic gains for the third year in a row across all three subject areas and across all student subgroups, district officials said.
In most cases, proficiency rates remain below 50% overall. For example, only 39.7% of students in grades 3 through 11 tested proficient or better in math and 48.3% did so in English language arts. In science, 32.1% of students in grades 5, 8 and 10 to 12 met proficiency standards.
But district officials stressed the progress made, noting that since the 2018-19 school year – the last full school year before the COVID-19 pandemic – historically underserved students outpaced districtwide figures in academic growth, suggesting a narrowing of achievement gaps.
“These are not just numbers on a page. … They are the result of your passion, your persistence, your belief in what students can achieve,” Chait told the roomful of administrators assembled inside Garfield High School’s auditorium on Tuesday, July 21.
The event to welcome administrators back to a new academic year featured student performances and shout-outs to schools such as Marquez Charter Elementary, whose robotics team members had to rebuild their robots after the Palisades fire destroyed their lab, then went on to earn a spot at a world championships competition in Dallas, and to King Drew Magnet High School, which had more black students admitted to the University of California system than any other school worldwide.
The event was part celebratory and part sobering as Chait and other district officials also acknowledged that difficult decisions are in store for the district to address ongoing structural deficits in the budget.
Earlier this month, the L.A. County Office of Education warned LAUSD it may be unable to meet its financial obligations in the 2027-28 and 2028-29 schools year because of the cost of recently approved labor agreements with district employees, ongoing structural deficits and declining enrollment.
LACOE has assigned a fiscal expert to advise LAUSD officials and directed the district to submit a revised budget by mid-August. If issues aren’t resolved, LACOE could take additional actions, including assigning a fiscal adviser with the authority to stay or rescind board actions if LAUSD’s financial situation worsens.
Chait’s choice of delivering his first state-of-the district address at a high school in East L.A. was a notable departure from his predecessor, former Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who preferred making a bigger splash by delivering these addresses in large theaters or concert halls in downtown Los Angeles.
But Chait, a longtime LAUSD employee who rose through the ranks, said he chose a schoolhouse for his address to emphasize the district’s focus on what takes place within a school – from the academic learning and social-emotional development that students experience to the sense of community that each campus nurtures.
The school ground, Chait said, is “the training ground for academic, career preparation and social-emotional well-being. But it’s also where we learn empathy, patience, cooperation, collective responsibility.”
“And in a moment (where) so much around us feels uncertain and ever-changing, we must be absolutely clear-eyed about what we are protecting and strengthening the schoolhouse,” he continued.
During a press conference after the address, Chait and other district officials again acknowledged LAUSD’s financial challenges.
With federal COVID-19 relief dollars drying up, declining enrollment and inadequate state funding, they said, the situation LAUSD finds itself in is neither unique nor unforeseen. But officials also doubled down on their position that investing in district staff is the right call and pointed to the sustained academic gains by students year-over-year as evidence of that investment.
“Local, state and federal government needs to pay very careful attention to what LAUSD is doing. It takes money to make sure that our kids learn and exceed,” said school board President Scott Schmerelson.
Board Vice President Rocío Rivas said the board is being fiscally responsible by investing in what matters – students and employees.
“These two priorities – being fiscally responsible and keeping our commitment to our students – are not in conflict,” she said. “A responsible budget is one that protects learning, supports student success and reflects our values.”
Chait said that in most schools, families won’t notice much change this coming school year as a result of the district’s fiscal challenges since most of the impacts won’t take place before the 2027-28 academic year.
He also expressed confidence that the district would be able to address concerns raised by LACOE. He said the county education office is seeking proof that LAUSD will be able to carry out the fiscal stabilization plan it presented in June.
“They want to see that we can actually implement what we put into that plan, and I’m confident that with the leadership that we have on the board and with the staff that we have that will help with the execution, that we will be successful in that regard,” he said.
The superintendent said the district has weathered challenges before and projected confidence that it will get through the current challenges as well.
“Our focus is on the schoolhouse. Our focus is on maintaining, to the maximum extent possible, stability at the schools,” he said.
“We have been through challenging times before,” he continued. “I can remember back to the impact of the Great Recession, and I can remember impacts around furloughs, and we made it through. We can do it again. But we need everyone’s support.”
The first day of school for LAUSD is Aug. 12.