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LAUSD to get more funding from state

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Times Staff Writer

A massive new state program to reduce class sizes will benefit the Los Angeles Unified School District more than anticipated. District officials had expected the state to fund about 80 local schools. Instead, the actual number is likely to be 86 to 93 campuses.

That’s just a handful more, but for those extra schools, it will be a bit like winning the lottery. These schools will get as much as $1,000 more per student for seven years.

The money is part of a $3-billion settlement to a lawsuit filed against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger by the California Teachers Assn. and state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell. They had alleged that Schwarzenegger broke an agreement, made early in his administration, to fully fund public schools.

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All parties agreed that the settlement money should be used to reduce class sizes and increase the number of counselors at California’s lowest performing schools.

To increase the amount of dollars for each school, they also decided to fund about one-third of the 1,455 eligible schools. Doing the math, local officials figured they would receive money for about 80 schools.

They did better because 195 eligible schools elsewhere in California didn’t apply.

L.A. Unified also did well because officials persuaded all but two of its eligible schools to submit applications.

For more than 60% of schools, this is an act of charity. They were too low on the district priority list to have any hope of receiving this funding.

But by submitting an application, they increased the number of L.A. Unified spots in the lottery.

A final group of schools won’t be selected until May because other factors will affect the lottery list.

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For one thing, at least one school must be chosen from every county.

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howard.blume@latimes.com

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