The LAUSD teacher strike cost $ 97 million. Now, the two parties are negotiating again

This is because the state of California finances schools on the basis of daily attendance, and many schoolchildren dropped during the strike. On Thursday, for example, about 84,000 of the district's 600,000 students went to school, the district reported. That's a 37% drop in attendance since Wednesday.

The financial loss until Friday has not been announced.

Karen Goldman's mother says that she is well aware of the money lost by the drop in attendance. This is one of the reasons why she prevents her fifth grade son from attending school.

"I have the impression that the message that I send it to him by not sending it and creating a budget loss is better than if I sent it, because that would allow to bring the strike to a speedier conclusion, "she said. .

But do not expect teachers to end their strikes anytime soon, said the union president on Thursday.

"After 21 months of negotiations, I think it's unrealistic to say that this will end after today," Caputo-Pearl said.

Teachers on strike are not paid. But the union leader said it was essential for them to survive longer than District Superintendent Austin Beutner, a former banker who had no previous teaching experience.

"If it happens in the next week … we have to last a day longer than Austin Beutner," said Caputo-Pearl. "We have to last a day longer than someone who has never taught in a classroom."

School District states that children are still learning

Although students are expected to go to school during the strike, many parents have withdrawn their children from the shortage of children. 39; teachers.

But the school district stated that students were learning – though sometimes in auditoriums rather than only in classrooms. At Adams Middle School, a deputy director filled out and gave a lecture on Thursday.

Last week, the district announced that 2,000 re-assigned administrators and approximately 400 substitute teachers would help replace more than 30,000 striking teachers. On Wednesday, the school district updated the number of replacements to 1400.

The district did not answer CNN's questions about the number of teachers who are not on strike and are still in school. the classrooms.

Beutner defended the decision to keep schools operating, especially for low-income families, who can not. pay for childcare and not have a safe place for their children to go.

"Although classroom instruction is not the same without teachers, we have a responsibility to keep schools open and to provide students with a safe space, shelter from rain, meals and instruction. modified, "he said.

The big fight around money – and a big deal

This stalemate boils down to two questions: how much money should be spent to increase the endowment? school staff and teachers, and whether the school district has this kind of money.

The district offered $ 130 million to meet union expectations but rejected the proposal.

The teachers 'union said the school district should tap into reserves amounting to $ 1.8 billion to fund additional staff and increase teachers' salaries.

But the union president said the school district was "always wrong in its forecasts, so we do not believe these numbers."

"Three years ago, they predicted a $ 105 million reserve and a reserve of $ 1.86 billion, with a reduction of $ 1.7 billion, said Caputo-Pearl.

If there is a financial problem on which both parties are in agreement "It is that they need more help." About 90 percent of the district's funding comes from Sacramento, Beutner said.

California's newly elected governor, Gavin Newsom, has proposed an increase in public school funding and wants the stalemate in Los Angeles ends quickly.

"This impasse disrupts the lives of too many children and their families," Newsom said in a statement Monday.

But it is unclear how much extra money the Los Angeles schools could receive, or when.