Los Angeles schools Supt. Andrés E. Chait made a calm official entry Tuesday into his new job, emphasizing rising student test scores and “a sense of belonging” that binds school communities — and looking beyond a projected financial crisis, declining enrollment and legal attack from the Trump administration.

In his first annual “state of the district” speech, held at Garfield High in East Los Angeles, Chait, 51, talked of stability, hard work well done and school district family values. He tamped down concerns over a looming multibillion-dollar deficit, immigration raids that have depressed attendance and enrollment and the sudden change in leadership that left him in charge of the nation’s second-largest school system.

Chait became acting superintendent in February and accepted the permanent job on June 24. Eight days later, the Los Angeles County education office — a financial oversight agency — said recent school board budget decisions “erode confidence” in the district’s ability to avoid bankruptcy.

L.A. Unified had overextended itself in newly approved union contracts and faces a deficit that, if unchecked, would grow to $3.585 billion by June 30, 2029, the county said. This year’s budget calls for spending $20.6 billion.

The Board of Education had already approved a plan with cuts that would eliminate the deficit, but county officials said oversight is necessary given recent actions that exacerbated the problem, such as canceling hundreds of authorized layoffs.

Andrés Chait became L.A. Unified’s acting superintendent in February and accepted the permanent job on June 24.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Chait has said he is prepared to take the steps necessary to balance the books — and the district has committed to slashing thousands of jobs, among other measures. But those actions are largely postponed until next year, in hopes that rising state revenues will limit the damage.

All crises would be manageable if taken on with unity, Chait said.

“The challenges we are facing are system-wide,” Chait said. “They require us to work together as a group of people, as a unified school district, centered on a common purpose.”

As has become typical, the event featured impressive student performances — but notably less glitz and showmanship than under Chait’s predecessor Alberto Carvalho, who resigned in June and was not allowed by the school board to continue his work as district leader after a February FBI raid of his San Pedro home and downtown L.A. office.

Carvalho has not been charged with any crime and denies any wrongdoing.

In the hands of Carvalho, the annual address was recently held at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The superintendent served as master of ceremonies, with performers weaving around him, cameos by celebrities, and slide projections and film sequences appearing on cue to supplement his applause and laugh lines. At times, district administrators would pull out their cellphones to take video or to wave like electronic lanterns at a rock concert.

Chait, a homegrown administrator who started as a kindergarten teacher, spoke fluidly and confidently but avoided a comparable vibe in the high school setting.

Like Carvalho, however, he focused on the good news of rising state test scores, a bread-and-butter metric that is, at this point, a product of the Carvalho team, of which Chait was a senior member as director of operations.

He said the district was on track for “record-setting academic achievement” for the second consecutive year, with gains in English language arts, mathematics and science.

The district said the results “continue a three-year trend of year-over-year growth across all three subjects and reflect progress across student groups.”

Across all grades tested in spring, 48.3% of L.A. Unified students met or exceeded the state standard in English, up 1.9 percentage points from last year.

In a notable math gain, 39.7% of students met or exceeded standards for their grade level, up 3 percentage points from a year earlier. Science scores improved as well.

The district also called attention to progress in closing the achievement gap, saying there were “accelerated gains among historically underserved students who are narrowing achievement gaps and improving at rates that exceed overall district growth.”

In recent years, the test score rise has been incremental, but surpasses growth in most comparable school systems.

Statewide scores on the Smarter Balanced standardized test have not yet been released. The district’s scores are the highest they’ve been under the current testing system, which dates back to the 2014-15 school year.

“These are collective accomplishments,” Chait said. “They reflect the dedication, skill and commitment of our entire community.”

Principal Long Nguyen, of Lemay Street Elementary in Van Nuys, said it was gratifying to see the academic gains at his school and districtwide.

“We’ve been working really hard to help students coming out of the pandemic, and finally at my school, I’m seeing the growth trajectory that I was wishing for and hoping for and working really hard for,” Nguyen said.

All the same, the budget projections are a concern.

“Nobody wants to have their school closed, or have layoffs of staff members who are very valuable,” he said. “I hope we’re going to be able to retain all the support that we have at school — because that’s what we need.”

Chait took charge of L.A. Unified with labor groups on the verge of striking. Union leaders praised his people skills and his willingness to negotiate. But if county analysts are correct, those good feelings will be tested in the harsh cutbacks to come over the next three years.

A county letter spoke of following through with unpaid furlough days for employees by this fall. In a news conference, Chait said the fall timing was not a literal deadline. Instead, he said, county officials want to see progress being made toward scheduling the furlough days or alternative budget cuts if unions refuse to accept them.

Both Chait and school board President Scott Schmerelson spoke of pressing the state for more funding that they said all school systems are entitled to under state law — and have weighted most of the cuts toward the back of a three-year budget plan.

Schmerelson said the board’s past spending was a calculated move to invest in students, something that has paid off in improved student achievement.

Chait repeatedly emphasized the sense of family and shared purpose he hoped to build on.

“The schoolhouse is the daily rehearsal of what it means to live together,” Chait said. “It’s where children learn to sit next to someone different from them, to share supplies, to speak up, to fail and try again.”

“That’s what we’re building,” Chait said. “A sense of belonging where students feel valued, connected and supported.”

A career-long district employee, Chait’s remarks were generally well-received.

“Mr. Chait understands us and our challenges,” said Hollywood High Principal Samuel Dovlatian.

With district finances under scrutiny, the county education office has appointed a fiscal expert to assist the district and said it is prepared — if necessary — to appoint a fiscal advisor with the authority to veto district spending decisions. The worst-case outcome — a state emergency bailout loan — would result in Chait losing his job and the elected school board being stripped of power.

Chait’s tone seemed to foreclose that possibility.

“Our responsibility is to lead with both challenge and progress in mind,” he said. “We will be disciplined. We will be strategic. And we will be clear about what matters most.”