99% of LAUSD support staff cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles. The district was sitting on $5 billion in reserves.
When a school district cannot retain teachers, it reaches for substitutes: technology, outsourced staffing, private contractors. These cost more, deliver less, and generate lawsuits. Underpaying teachers is not a path to solvency. It is the beginning of a more expensive problem.
LAUSD teachers worked under an expired contract from June 2024 until April 2026 — nearly two years. The district offered an 8% raise while holding $5 billion in reserves. On April 12, 2026, hours before a strike deadline, the district agreed to an 11.65% raise and a $77,000 starting salary.
The money was always there.
Gary Payne has worked for LAUSD for ten years as a buildings and grounds worker at San Pedro High School. He earns just under $20 an hour. To afford a home, he moved to Menifee. His commute is 90 miles each way.
He wakes before dawn and drives for Uber on the way to work to help pay his mortgage. He does this to keep his job — because after ten years, the pension is something he cannot afford to walk away from.
For months, LAUSD said it couldn’t afford raises. On April 12, 2026, with a strike 48 hours away, it found the money.
Gary Payne is not an outlier. He is the median.
“The truth has always been clear — the district CAN afford these changes. Resources will begin to be redirected away from unnecessary spending and toward students and classrooms.”
— UTLA Vice President Julie Van Winkle, April 12, 2026