LBUSD Faces Significant Challenges

LBUSD in TRANSITION
The Long Beach Unified School District is a nationally-acclaimed K-12 district which is now in transition. Two of the five board members are retiring and its superintendent of 18 years is also retiring. Times of transition are critical for any school district, but especially for LBUSD where stable leadership and a spirit of collaboration have brought the district to its current highly regarded status.  LBUSD needs the continuity of experienced, hard-working leadership at the board and administrative levels to maintain and further the success it has achieved.  Doug Otto brings wisdom and years of experience in educational policy.

BUDGET ALERT
Funding for LBUSD schools is channeled through state budget appropriations in competition with a multitude of needs and priorities that the state faces.  Securing adequate resources and managing a nearly $1 billion budget is the job of the school board, and each year becomes more challenging. Next year the district may face its first budget deficit in many years. In the last 15 years, enrollment has dropped from approximately 100,000 students to 70,000 and is anticipated to drop another 5,000 in the next few years.  Because state funding is based largely on enrollment, LBUSD will lose significant funding.  At the same time, the state has mandated that the district double its contribution to the CalSTRS and CalPERS pension funds.  In essence, income will go down while fiscal obligations rise.  Doug Otto is the ONLY candidate with experience in managing district budgets and facing the fallout of downturns in the economy.

EQUITY IS AN ABIDING ISSUE
LBUSD is faced with the difficult challenge of closing the achievement gap to make all students successful.  African American and Latino students are not succeeding at the same rate as Caucasian and Asian students, though their success rates are improving.  Doug Otto believes it is the obligation of the district to make success equitable for all students and he has set this as a personal priority as a board member. 

 

Doug Otto, Long Beach City College Board of Trustees, speaks at bond-financed construction at the Pacitic Coast Campus.  

Doug Otto with Long Beach Police Officer and Doug Haubert, LB City Prosecutor