Assembly Bill Could Deprive L.A. Unified of $236 Million

The Los Angeles Unified School District could lose up to $236 million in urban desegregation funds, which pay for everything from magnet schools to lowering class size, under a proposal being considered by the Legislature.

Sponsored by Assemblyman Bernie Richter (R-Chico), chairman of the Assembly’s education budget subcommittee, the proposal calls for spreading that money among all California school districts.

The idea evolved from Richter’s opposition to desegregation funding, according to his chief of staff, David Reade.

Desegregation is a “misnomer,” Reade said, because it has not prevented white flight from urban school districts, which now are predominantly minority.

At a standing-room only community meeting held Thursday, Los Angeles Unified officials said they view the threat as serious. While Los Angeles and a handful of other large urban districts would lose substantial amounts of money, more than 900 suburban districts would gain, forming a powerful lobby for the proposal.