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Final Project Report

Samuel Jimenez
University of San Diego
LEPS 590 Budget and Finance for Law Enforcement
Leaders
Professor O’ Deane
May 1, 2017
Budgetary Contact

On March 15, 2017, I met in person with Chustz, Keith. Mr. Chustz works for the Los

Angeles School Police Department. He has been working with the Los Angeles School Police

Department for the past twenty years. Mr. Chustz oversees the department’s payroll unit and

budget. He has been in that supervisory position since 2003. The Los Angeles School Police

Department (LASPD) is the largest independent school police department in the United States,

with over 410 sworn police officers, 101 non-sworn school safety officers (SSO), and 34 civilian

support staff dedicated to serving the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). It is the

fifth largest police department in Los Angeles County, and the 14th largest in California.

Budgetary Questions About LASPD’s Budgetary Process

In our second meeting, I asked Mr. Chustz some questions I had in reference to LASPD’s

budgetary process. The questions I asked were the following:

- How does LASPD prioritize their budget?

- How does LASPD break down their budget?

- What type of grants or special funds is LASPD given? What are the requirements that must be

met?

- What type of budgeting model does LASPD use?

- What do you like/ dislike about LASPD’s current budget model? Do you think LASPD would

consider adapting an alternate budget model?


Based on the questions I asked, I was able to obtain the following information: The Los

Angeles School Police Department provides safety and security for schools and property

belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District. The fiscal year for the Los Angeles School

Police Department begins every 1st of July and ends the 30th of June. Each fiscal year, the Los

Angeles Unified School District provides a budget of about $67- 68 million to the Los Angeles

School Police Department. The district does not dictate how the money should be spent by the

Los Angeles School Police Department. The responsibility of managing LASPD’s budget falls

under the budget supervisor (Mr. Chustz). Mr. Chustz manages LASPD’s budget. However, the

ultimate decision of approving and disapproving major spending amounts falls under the Chief

of Police.

About 95 % of the budget goes towards the salary of sworn and non-sworn personnel

working for the department. The remaining 5% is used as an operating budget. The operating

budget consists of the following items: Uniforms, Equipment, Vehicles, Citation Revenue,

Professional Services, POST Reimbursement/ Training, Telecommunications, Office Supplies/

Training, Co- Locations Charter School, and Custodial Supplies. Mr. Chustz provides quarterly

spending/ line item budget reports to the Chief of Police. Based on those reports, the Chief of

Police makes decisions if any cut-backs in certain areas should be done.

Currently, the Los Angeles School Police Department does not receive any other funds or

grants from any other organization other than the Los Angeles Unified School District. The Los

Angeles Unified School District gives the department a lump sum (as described by Mr. Chustz)

to operate. Thus, the Los Angeles School Police Department’s budget is unrestricted. The Los
Angeles School Police Department accounts for about less than one percent of the Los Angeles

Unified School District’s budget.

Mr. Chustz uses a line item budgeting style to manage LASPD’s budget. He likes

“everything” about the line item budgeting style. The main thing Mr. Chustz enjoys about using

a line item budgeting style is its very easy to use/ update. Mr. Chustz uses an Excel spreadsheet

to list LASPD’s expenditures and creates quarterly reports to track spending and balances.

Although there are alternate budgeting style methods that can be used by LASPD, Mr. Chustz

prefers not to do so because he is accustomed to a line item budget system. Moreover, Mr.

Chustz believes using a line item budget system has kept LASPD running smoothly and

efficiently and would like to keep it that way.

Observations of LASPD’s Budgeting Process

Mr. Chustz uses a line item budgeting style to manage LASPD’s budget. A line item budget

model allocates funds to specific commodities or objects of cost. In a line item budget model,

importance is placed on personnel, supplies, equipment, utilities, contractual services, and capital

expenditures. Line item budget models also show the comparison between the financial data for

the past accounting or budgeting periods and estimated figures for the current or a future period.

This particular style of budgeting meets LASPD’s budgetary needs as it helps the department

manage its budget effectively and efficiently. Line item budgets are easy to prepare; they are

quick and simple. However, its major shortcoming is its inability to describe the activities that

will be performed by an agency or department.


LASPD prioritizes expenditures so that they produce the greatest positive impact on the

community they serve. LASPD’s jurisdiction covers about 710 square miles. LASPD prioritizes

expenditures in the Campus Services Division including but not limited to overtime staffing. The

main goal of CSD units is to provide safe school passages as students are going to and from

school. CSD units also provide directed patrols and foot beats.

LASPD does not have to fight or justify their budget. They do not have to fight or justify their

budget because the Los Angeles Unified School District Board members decide on the budget

LASPD will work with. They provide LASPD with a lump-sum at the beginning of the fiscal

year. It is up to the budget supervisor (Mr. Chustz) and the LASPD Chief of Police to manage

the budget. The budget is monitored and adjusted quarterly according to LASPD’s needs. Every

unit or division in LASPD is given a pre- determined budget to work with. LASPD’s Chief of

Police decides the pre- determined budget for each respective unit or division. Thus, each unit or

division of the LASPD has to manage its budget wisely.

Not having to fight or justify a budget can have its advantages and disadvantages. An

advantage of not having to fight or justify a budget is the budget one is given to work with will

always be there at the beginning of every fiscal year no matter what. In LASPD’s case, their

annual budget given to work with is about 65- 68 million dollars. The downside of not having to

fight or justify a budget is a department or organization will be expected to operate with the pre-

determined budget it is given and questions will probably arise if there is a request for an

increase in budget making it somewhat difficult to get a request for an increase in budget

fulfilled. In addition, a miscalculation or bad use of funds in one area can have serious

repercussions in the whole department or agency when working with a pre- determined budget.
Los Angeles Unified School District Budget Timeline

Date Event
September, 2016 Closing of the 2015-16 budget
October, 2016 Community Feedback & Superintendent Update
November, 2016 Community Feedback & Superintendent Update
December, 2016 First Interim/ Proposed LAUSD 2017-18 Budget
January, 2017 Governor’s Budget 2017-18/ Revision to 2017-18 LAUSD budget
January, 2017 State Board of Education Releases Regulations for use of Supplemental
and Concentration Funding
February, 2017 Board Community Input for LCFF Spending
February 28, 2017 Estimated Rate Sheets (Shopping Lists) released
March 3, 2017 Program and Budget Handbook Released to Schools
March 15, 2017 Budget Allocation Letters Released to Schools
March 17, 2017 School Budget Development – School Front End Opens
March, 2017 State Board of Education Releases Local Control Accountability Plan
(LCAP) Guidelines and Template
April 11, 2017 School Budget Development – School Front End Closes at 5:00 pm
May, 2017 Governor’s Budget Revision
June, 2017 Board’s Adoption of 2017-18 Budget
June, 2017 Concurrent Adoption of Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)
October, 2017 Los Angeles County Office of Education Approves or Rejects LAUSD
LCAP

*The Los Angeles School Police Department provides services to the Los Angeles Unified

School District. The Los Angeles School Police Department does not participate in any of the

district’s budget process. The budget set for the Los Angeles School Police Department is about

less than one percent of the district’s total budget for every fiscal year. According to Mr. Chustz

(Budget Supervisor), the Los Angeles School Police Department does not have to fight or

compete for resources because regardless if they do or don’t the department will get the same

percentage every fiscal year. Attached is a budget time line for the Los Angeles Unified School

District.
L.A.S.P.D. Budget Flowchart
Recommendations for Improvements to the Budgetary Process

Every budget manager is different. That is, he or she may have his or her own way of

managing a budget. In this case, Mr. Chustz prefers to manage LASPD’s budget using a line

item budget style. I would recommend using a different style of budget. I would recommend

using a zero based budgeting style. Using a ZBB style has its advantages. One of the advantages

of ZBB is accuracy; ZBB makes every department revise every item in their budget along with

their operational costs. This allows for a clearer picture of costs against the desired performance.

Another advantage of ZBB is efficiency; helps in the efficient allocation of resources

(department-wise) as it does not look at the historical numbers but looks at the actual numbers.

Lastly, another advantage of ZBB is it helps reduce unnecessary activities; leads to the discovery

of opportunities and more cost- effective ways of doing things by eliminating unnecessary

activities. Moreover, I believe ZBB can help prepare LASPD to fight for or justify their budget

in front of the LAUSD board members when the moment arrives.

Another recommendation I would make would be to use some of the budget to create a Grant

Writer position. While talking with Mr. Chustz he mentioned LASPD has not received any type

of grants in the past 7 years. LASPD has not received any type of grants because there is no one

qualified for grant writing in the department. Receiving grants from outside agencies other than

the Los Angeles Unified School District can benefit LASPD. It can benefit LASPD because they

would have additional sources of funding to use throughout the department according to the

description or requirement(s) of the grant.


Samuel Jimenez
125 N. Beaudry Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012

May 1, 2017

Mr. Keith Chustz


Los Angeles School Police Department
125 N. Beaudry Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Dear Mr. Chustz,

I would like to start off by thanking you for your time and the opportunity to meet with you in
reference to the Master’s project for my current class. With that being said, I have completed a
report on the Los Angeles School Police Department’s budgetary process and recommendations
for improvement.

The Los Angeles School Police Department currently uses a line item budget model. The line
item budget works very well for the Los Angeles School Police Department. It works very well
for the Los Angeles School Police Department because importance is placed on personnel,
supplies, equipment, utilities, contractual services, and capital expenditures. Its major
shortcoming is its inability to describe the activities of that will be performed a particular agency.
However, this does not seem to affect the Los Angeles School Police Department. It does not
appear to affect the department because the department receives a pre- determined lump sum
every fiscal year regardless.

As part of my recommendations for improvement, I am suggesting two main things. My first


suggestion is to use a different style of budgeting. There is nothing wrong with the current
budgeting style the Los Angeles School Police Department uses. However, times and procedures
are constantly changing. I would suggest using a Zero Based Budgeting style. A zero based
budget allows for a clearer picture of costs against the desired performance, thus, increasing
effective and efficiency. Another recommendation for improvement would be to set budget aside
for a Grant Writer position. A grant writer has the skills that can help the Los Angeles School
Police Department secure grants from outside agencies or districts other than the Los Angeles
Unified School District. The report I am providing you with will have more detailed information.

Once again, thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Samuel Jimenez

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