Los Angeles Unified opened its 1,300 schools Wednesday in a display of normalcy despite a difficult year ahead marked by financial pressure, leadership turnover and community safety worries. The district, with about 390,000 students, is preparing for painful reductions that could eliminate more than 6,000 jobs and help close a projected deficit of as much as $3.6 billion if cuts are not made. Enrollment is still falling faster than in most California districts even as academic performance improves, and officials say federal immigration enforcement fears may have worsened last year's decline from an expected roughly 2% to about 4%. The school year also begins after months of upheaval at the top. Supt. Alberto Carvalho, who had been set for a four-year reappointment a year earlier, resigned in June after the FBI raided his home and office in February as part of a broader investigation into his dealings with a tech contractor. Carvalho has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. He was placed on paid leave two days after the raid and was permanently replaced by Andrés E. Chait, the former acting superintendent. At Pacoima Middle School, the district highlighted both its challenges and its progress. Enrollment there has dropped from about 1,500 a decade ago to about 700, yet the campus has expanded academic offerings, rising test scores, a robotics lab, new fitness equipment and added garden space. Teacher Raquel Chacon said the school is increasing access to advanced math, with accelerated enrollment rising from about 30 students last year to 75, while also using an e-sports program as computer science and problem-solving training. The campus also supports about 30 students classified as homeless through a free boutique offering uniforms, shoes and clothing. Elsewhere, families near Boyle Heights continue to worry about health risks after the Lineage warehouse fire. District officials said eight schools within one mile of the site were cleaned, fitted with MERV-13 filters and supplied with air purifiers, but some parents and activists are still pushing for wider soil testing and possibly moving students away from areas downwind of the fire. Chait is expected to decide on any broader response. The district's larger budget plan also includes unpaid furlough days, though unions have so far resisted. If the district fails to carry out cuts, county education officials would step in and impose them. Even so, schools opened with familiar rituals, from classroom preparation to district meal service, as educators tried to project stability during a year of uncertainty.