School overview
Castle Heights Elementary School
Who governs Castle Heights, how its allocation is set, and what is underway on campus. Part of Los Angeles Unified School District.
Who decides for Castle Heights?
Castle Heights has no independent school board. LAUSD's seven-member elected Board sets district policy and hires the superintendent, while district formulas allocate school staffing and dollars. At the school, the principal administers programs and the elected Local School Leadership Council shares authority over specified areas such as discretionary budgets, staff development, discipline guidelines, and use of school equipment.
District-level authority
LAUSD controls the main funding formulas, labor agreements, facilities program, curriculum requirements, and districtwide policies.
School-level authority
The principal manages daily operations; the Local School Leadership Council gives elected parent and staff representatives a role in defined budget and program decisions.
Formula-funded allocation
The 2025-26 allocation used an ECast enrollment forecast of 359, staffing norms, program rules, and the school's Student Equity Need Index category.
What the allocation excludes
The school allocation is not total public spending on Castle Heights: central administration, facilities construction, transportation, benefits, and districtwide services may be paid elsewhere in LAUSD's budget.
The local council has meaningful defined authority, but major staffing formulas, facilities investments, and districtwide rules remain LAUSD decisions.
Where the school stands
School Budget Summary for fund center 1287701; excludes many centrally budgeted services.
Positions in the same 2025-26 school allocation.
ECast is the enrollment forecast used for budgeting, not a final enrollment count.
Context calculation: $6,003,988 divided by ECast 359. This is a school allocation, not total district spending per student.
LAUSD labels quintile 5 as the lowest-need category, which affects the size of the equity supplement.
Major projects
Campus construction and office relocation
In progress through 2027LAUSD is delivering a nine-classroom building, HVAC and roofing work, auditorium work, and later yard improvements. The Local School Leadership Council approved temporarily moving the main office to Room 8 during construction.
- Principal reports auditorium construction affecting school programs
- Local School Leadership Council confirms the temporary office relocation
- Expected completion month for the nine-classroom building
- Expected completion month for yard work
Funding
LAUSD facilities program
The school communications describe scope and dates but do not state the project budget or identify a bond measure.
District student-device policy
School implementation begins in 2026-27LAUSD's new elementary device rules remove routine device use in TK-1, move grades 2-5 away from one-to-one use, prohibit devices during lunch and recess, and establish screen-time limits.
- Principal communicates the approved policy and school-level requirements
- Policy takes effect for the 2026-27 school year
Funding
LAUSD operating and technology resources
The school communication states the requirements but not a separate implementation amount.
Recent news
Recent alerts by topic
The overview uses official LAUSD school-budget summaries, Castle Heights Local School Leadership Council records, principal communications, LAUSD governance materials, and the school directory.
Get alerts for Castle Heights Elementary School
We read every agenda, packet, and set of minutes, and write up the decisions that affect families — each one linked to the document it came from.
View alerts for this district