June 1, 2019
Ms. Maria Salinas
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
350 South Bixel Street
Los Angeles, California 90017
msalinas@lachamber.com
Via USPS and email
Dear Ms. Salinas:
The L.A. Compact was established to unite key stakeholders to improve our local
schools. A key component of the Compact is to increase funding for public education.
If approved on the June 4, 2019 special election ballot, Measure EE would deliver
desperately-needed funds to reduce class sizes and add teachers, nurses, librarians,
counselors and support staff to our local schools. This would help the nearly 700,000
students enrolled in our public schools have a better education and a better chance to
participate in building a stronger economy and future for our region.
The status quo is stark: While California is the fifth-largest economy in the world, we
rank 44th among the 50 states in per pupil funding for education. English and math
classes are stuffed with more that 45 students, representing some of the largest class
sizes in the nation. Nurses are available once a week. The student-to-counselor ratio is
500 to one, which means young people experiencing trauma may never see a
psychological professional, in some cases until it is too late.
A lack of custodial and maintenance staff leaves classrooms uncleaned and bathrooms
out of order. The average income of those custodians and support staff is $25,000 year.
Many of those same workers are parents of LAUSD students. As you know, 90% of the
students enrolled in LAUSD are people of color and 80% are on reduced or free meal
programs, meaning that often their only hot meal comes at school.
Recently, the District and its labor partners achieved savings of $100 million annually
through reductions in health care costs and central office staff. However, LAUSD cannot
provide a quality education with cuts alone: the need for more school funding remains.
Yet, the Chamber of Commerce has led the campaign to oppose EE, rejecting a key
objective of the Compact. In doing so, the Chamber has made clear that it is not a
reliable partner to our schools.

 Therefore, we hereby withdraw from, and effectively dissolve, the L.A. Compact. After
the election, we will continue our work bringing together political, labor, philanthropic,
community and business leaders who have demonstrated a concerted interest in our
schools to build our future together.
Cordially,

__________________________
Eric Garcetti
Mayor of Los Angeles

_________________________
Monica Garcia
President, LAUSD Board

__________________________
Austin Beutner
Superintendent of Schools, LAUSD

__________________________
Alex Caputo-Pearl
President, United Teachers Los Angeles

__________________________
Rusty Hicks
President, LA Federation of Labor

__________________________
Juan A. Flecha
President, Associated Administrators of
Los Angeles

Copy to: David Rattray

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