Long Beach Unified to hire 55 news teachers next year thanks to influx of state funding

After years of scraping by, Long Beach Unified finds itself with an influx of new money thanks to a new state formula that takes into account the makeup of local districts.

The Long Beach district is expecting an additional $107 million next school year, which will allow it to hire about 55 new teachers, officials said.

From 2008 to 2012, LBUSD had to make more than $300 million in cuts, including hundreds of layoffs in 2010, most of them teachers. The district also increased class sizes and eliminated administrators, librarians, nurses, psychologists, counselors and support staff.

New direction

But things are tuing around for the district.

The money is a result of the state’s Local Control Funding Formula implemented in 2013, which gives extra money to districts such as LBUSD with a large number of students in need, for example, those who are leaing English, in foster care or in a low-income household.

“Every school in the district has more today than they did in 2008,” said district Superintendent Chris Steinhauser.

Since 2013, the district has received an additional $150 million from the state and hired more than 300 new employees, about 80 percent of them teachers, counselors, nurses and librarians, said Steinhauser.

In the 2016-2017 school year, thanks to an extra $107 million from Local Control Funding Formula, the district expects to hire 10 new advanced placement teachers and five advanced placement coordinators in high school and hire 33 elementary school literacy teachers that will help lower the class size in first grade.

The district also plans to spend $500,000 on new music instruments for K-12 students.

“Local Control is the best thing that has ever happened,” Steinhauser said. “We can plan for the future, and we have flexibility in spending the money.”

Board member Megan Kerr, who represents District 1, said the Local Control Funding Formula is, “from a social justice perspective, the most equitable thing we can do for students.”

The Local Control Funding Formula is scheduled to end in 2020-2021, and at that point, districts will only receive a cost-of-living adjustment. At that time, Steinhauser estimates the district will be about $65u2009million below 2007 funding levels.

Reforming funding

Previous to 2013, the state distributed money to school districts in 65 different categories, such as after-school education, safety and violence prevention, community day schools, special education, and put tight restrictions on how the money could be spent.

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But the Local Control Funding Formula changed that. Under the formula, districts receive base funding for all students and two types of extra funding. The state divides students into four categories (K-3, grades 4-6, 7-8 and 9-12) and assigns a monetary value to each group.

One type applies to all “students in need” and brings an additional 20 percent for each of those students.

The second type applies if a district has more than 55 percent of the student body “in need.” If so, the district receives an extra 50 percent of the base grant for the students that exceed 55 percent.

More local control

The state has also given districts more control of how they allocate the money, establishing eight priorities, such as student achievement, parent involvement, student engagement and access to board curriculum, that districts need to meet.

LBSUD allows individual schools to request funding for specific projects, but the school needs to show the funding will meet one of the eight priorities and help students in need.

School specific funds

Each of the district’s 87 schools have a site council, similar to a miniature school board that is composed of a principal, teachers and community members, who decide what gets a funding request.

Once a site council approves funding, it needs approval from the elementary, middle or high school superintendent, and then Steinhauser.

“We must hold form to the fact that however we spend the money, it’s making a difference in student success and achievement,” said LBUSD Vice President Jon Meyer, who represents District 2.

Steinhauser said it’s vital for parents to get involved in the funding process.

“Parents at all sites need to get involved,” he said. “We have delegated so much responsibility to the sites.”