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LAUSD CFO details post‑pandemic rise in non‑labor spending, flags special‑ed and tutoring costs
Summary
CFO Samad Karimi told the Committee of the Whole that LAUSD’s non‑labor spending spiked during the pandemic—largely for testing and restricted programs such as ELOP—and is reverting toward pre‑pandemic shares, while school allocations shift with enrollment declines concentrated at highest‑need campuses.
CFO Samad Karimi told the Los Angeles Unified Committee of the Whole that the district’s share of non‑labor spending rose sharply during the pandemic and remains above pre‑pandemic levels because of new restricted programs and lingering costs tied to COVID response.
Karimi said the district’s audited expenditure figures run through the 2024‑25 school year and that the spike was driven in part by pandemic needs such as COVID testing. “A really big example of that during the pandemic was COVID testing,” he said, pointing to 2021–22 as the high point for non‑labor outlays.
Why it matters: non‑labor categories — books and supplies, professional services, non‑capitalized equipment and similar costs — are carved out of personnel calculations but still affect how much money remains for schools. Karimi emphasized that some large new programs, notably the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP), account for substantial restricted spending. He said ELOP’s annual revenues are about $470 million and that while it funds mostly…
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