among the attendees, los angeles superintendent john dacey. miguel almaguer spent some time with him as part of our "education nation." >> chris, nice to meet you. nice to meet you. >> reporter: superintendent john dacey knows his schools are failing. they're among the most crowded in the nation with low test scores and a high drop-out rate, 30%. this is the budget that shrunk nearly $1.5 billion in two years. >> we're catastrophically underfunding public education. we have turned our back on funding public schools. >> reporter: just one month into his new job, he's tackling tough issues. dropping by classrooms to see first hand the struggles students face every day. are you a senior? how is it going? >> reporter: students outnumber counselors 900-1. and 87 librarians could lose their jobs this year. last week, protests erupted in city streets. 7,000 employees could lose their jobs this year. lausd may be unique in its size, but the superintendent said the district and their problems are representative of what is happening across the country.