L.A. schools shut till at least May 1

As district plans to provide meals and online learning tools, officials seek state aid.

Public campuses will be closed in response to the widening pandemic in Los Angeles, energizing a scramble to move classes online.

Los Angeles public school campuses will be closed until at least May 1 in response to the widening COVID-19 pandemic, officials announced Monday, energizing a costly scramble to move instruction online for an extended period, provide computers and free internet to the needy and ramp up meal distribution.

By staying closed until May, the nation’s secondlargest school system is aligned closely with a recommendation from Debra Duardo, head of the L.A. County Education Office, which provides oversight for local school systems. There appears to be broad compliance with Duardo’s timetable among the county’s 80 districts. About 1.5 million students are enrolled in Los Angeles Unified and county public school districts.

“I wish I could start by telling you it will all be back to normal sometime soon,” said L.A. Unified schools Supt. Austin Beutner in a video statement Monday morning. “But that is not the case.”

The centerpiece of the massive L.A. Unified effort is $100 million in new spending that Beutner has authorized, using emergency powers, to provide a district computer to every child in need and technology training for teachers and students — expenses that could threaten the district’s solvency.

Part of the money also will go toward providing high-speed wireless internet through Verizon to all students who need it. The service will be free to families, paid for by L.A. Unified at a discounted rate. About 80% of the district’s half-a-million students are members of low-income families.

“In ordinary times, our focus is on three things — to help students learn, provide support to students and families most in need and take care of all teachers and staff in schools who make possible the learning and support,” Beutner said. “Even in these extraordinary times, these are still our goals.”

This spending and other costs have thrown the district’s three-year budget — which the state requires to be balanced — into an apparent deficit, compelling Beutner to appeal to state lawmakers for emergency state funding.

“Said simply, our budgets