Deasy faces a $400-million budget deficit and thousands of employee layoffs. Facing these challenges, the new superintendent says he has a plan.
He is proposing a series of steps aimed at saving $304 million in the upcoming school year. This would include requiring district employees to take an average of 12 furlough days each, borrowing approximately $100 million from the health and welfare fund, and borrowing another possible $60 million from various other accounts.
This would put the district in a $700-million budget deficit for the following year, but Deasy said it would also save 80 percent of the jobs currently on the chopping block.
Deasy also talked about Mayor /*Antonio Villaraigosa*/'s humorous statements in his State of the City address, in which the mayor referred to Deasy as "Bill Bratton with a ruler."
"It was a humorous statement being Bill Bratton with a ruler. I think it was obviously a compliment. He was an amazing police chief, one who drove the system through the use of data, high expectations and support," said Deasy.
Deasy said that like Bratton, he plans to move /*LAUSD*/ quickly with the use of data, facts and support for his staff.
