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LA Unified officials are in Sacramento today lobbying for adult education and transitional kindergarten programs. Oh yeah, and the budget, too.

Among those joining in on the road trip are Chief Deputy Superintendent Michelle King, Chief Financial Officer Megan Reilly and board members George McKenna and Steve Zimmer. They planned to meet with Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and “other key legislators,” according to district officials.

Superintendent Ramon Cortines announced plans to eliminate funding for a pre-school program serving about 13,000 four-year olds, called the School Readiness and Language Development Program. SRLDP costs about $26 million annually and is the only pre-school program financed exclusively with district general funds.

As a result, the board approved a resolution to explore the idea of expanding existing transitional kindergarten programs, which are partially paid for with state funding.

Adult education programs were among the first to be slashed throughout the the recession years, and it has yet to benefit from recent state revenue increases. Further, more cuts are planned. The district issued layoff notices to hundreds of adult education teachers in April.

The latest budget projections from the state’s legislative analysts office estimate the district will receive $710 million dollars above what it had initially expected.