The nation’s second-largest school district began the 2024-25 school year on Monday, with more than 400,000 students returning to Los Angeles Unified campuses with a renewed focus on student safety and ambitious plans for campus improvements.

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said he is entering the new year with particular optimism, recently citing a recovery in test scores and a stable financial position despite declining enrollment since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

He acknowledged those achievements late last month in his annual back-to-school address at downtown’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, noting: “Other school districts have been forced to lay off employees due to difficult economic conditions, but we have not and will not do so.”

The district has taken a financial hit from declining enrollment numbers, as state funding for districts is based on student attendance. But Carvalho maintained his optimistic tone, noting that overall attendance and graduation rates at LAUSD have improved. He said that has paid off in terms of test scores, as math and English scores have increased — though they are still below levels before the pandemic forced students to do remote learning.

“We can be really proud of our efforts to get students back on track after the pandemic – but we are not done yet,” he said in his speech.

He described the start of the new school year as another “golden opportunity… to change the lives of our students, each and every one of them.”

In the midst of the upcoming school year, LAUSD will ask voters in November to approve a $9 billion bond to fund school campus upgrades and expansions. Carvalho told the school board last week that more than 60% of the district’s school buildings are over 50 years old and are in dire need of upgrades.

To pass the proposed bond measure on November 5, the support of 55% of voters is needed.

The bond, however, faces opposition, including from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which says the bond would cost owners of an average-priced home more than $8,200 in higher property taxes over 30 years.

But local authorities point to the security improvements that have already been made on many campuses.

Mayor Karen Bass said Friday that more than 450 speed limit signs and 250 speed bumps have been installed near schools to make it safer for children to get to school.

She also said the city’s Department of Transportation will deploy more than 500 school crossing guards in the 2024-25 school year, calling it the “most extensive deployment” of school crossing guards in over a decade.

“The city has urgently implemented hundreds of safety precautions near schools ahead of the new school year,” Bass said in a statement. “In partnership with the City Council and the Los Angeles Unified School District, we have taken steps to make streets near schools safer, and we will continue to do more to promote student safety.”

Officials with the Los Angeles Police Department urged residents to be aware of the increasing number of children who must walk, bike or otherwise get to school before school starts. LAPD officials plan to hold a press conference on Tuesday to raise awareness, but pointed out in advance that “the leading cause of death for children ages 14 and younger is motor vehicle crashes, whether they are riding as a passenger on a bicycle or are struck by a car while walking.”