LAUSD budget proposal foresees up to 8,000 layoffs by next fall

School officials Tuesday unveiled a worst-case budget plan that could, if enacted, result in up to 8,000 layoffs by next fall. The tentative budget proposal, which responds to next year's projected deficit of $470 million, is an early salvo in a process that will play out over the next six months in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Teachers fired a return volley with an afternoon rally outside district headquarters that attracted more than 700. Participants said they opposed all cuts affecting teachers and classrooms.

The district had to approve a projected budget covering the next three years to comply with state law.

The district also would pursue revenue increases, including a parcel tax on property owners, said L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines. That tax, if approved by the school board and then by voters, would work out to $2 to $4 a week for property owners and raise about $150 million a year over a four- to six-year period.

-- Howard Blume