But even if the school district could stop charter-school growth, the enrollment picture would continue to be bleak, and one of the key issues isn’t even under discussion right now: the district’s heavy retiree-benefits obligations. How will the L.A. Unified of 2028, when it is expected to have perhaps 450,000 students or possibly fewer, pay for the tremendous obligations incurred when it had an enrollment of more than 700,000? Benefits aren’t negotiated on the same cycle as pay, staffing and working conditions, which makes no sense. District finances encompass all of these factors; retiree obligations can’t be left out of the picture as though they have no effect on other expenditures.
Source: latimes.com – Los Angeles Times