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Deasy Staying; Board Extends Contract through June 2016*
John Deasy‘s tenure as superintendent of LA Unified School District is continuing as the school board today gave him a “satisfactory” performance evaluation and extended his contract to June, 30, 2016. The announcement, after nearly five hours of a closed door meeting at the district’s downtown headquarters, ended five frenetic days of uncertainty that began with...
By Vanessa Romo | October 29, 2013
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Union President Says Strike Could Help Win Teacher Pay Raises
Could a teacher strike be on the horizon? In ratcheting up pressure on LA Unified to negotiate for salary increases for its members, UTLA President Warren Fletcher is raising the specter of a strike as a way to force the issue. He writes in the latest issue of the union’s monthly, United Teacher, “In any...
By LA School Report | October 24, 2013
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UTLA Seeking to Take Lead on Changing CA’s Parent Trigger*
The governing body of the LA teachers union last night voted to seek out a state lawmaker to sponsor legislation that rewrites California’s parent trigger law, which allows for wholesale changes at a school if a majority of parents want them. The state law, passed in 2010, was used for the first time this year...
By LA School Report | October 17, 2013
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Union To Ask LA Unified Board for a Stay On Dismissals*
The Los Angeles teachers union will ask the LA Unified Board of Education to temporarily suspend the two most recent rounds of teacher dismissals, which the board approved in closed sessions this month and last month. “Teachers want to make sure that if there are any bad guys in the classroom, that they stop being...
By Hillel Aron | October 14, 2013
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Caputo-Pearl Kicks Off Money Drive for Union Presidency
The first step of running for office is raising money, and the UTLA Presidential election is no exception. In an email to would-be supporters this week, candidate Alex Caputo-Pearl set a fundraising goal of $100,000 by the end of the year for his slate of seven candidates, dubbed “Union Power.” “The Union Power slate has the...
By Hillel Aron | October 4, 2013
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No Race to Top for Teachers Union, ‘Travesty,’ Says Galatzan*
The Los Angeles teachers union said today that LA Unified’s application for a federal Race to the Top grant had “so many glaring problems” that the union could not support it. This was the second straight year the union refused to sign off on the district’s application, which was unanimously approved by the school board. Union participation is...
By Hillel Aron | October 3, 2013
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Another Candidate Emerges to Challenge for UTLA Presidency
The election campaign for president of the teachers union, UTLA, has expanded with a third candidate entering the race, joining the incumbent, Warren Fletcher, and a previously-announced challenger, Alex Caputo-Pearl, a member of the Progressive Educators for Action caucus within the union. The new candidate, David Garcia, is a former Navy corpsman and veteran of the first Gulf War...
By Hillel Aron | October 1, 2013
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Should the Teachers Union Vote Online? Members Will Decide
A proposal to require the Los Angeles teachers union (UTLA) to adopt an online voting system for electing its leaders has qualified as a ballot measure (see petition wording here), LA School Report has learned. It must now be taken to the rank and file for a vote. Megan Markevich, a middle school English teacher who...
By LA School Report | September 30, 2013
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Vladovic Leadership Style Suggests Slower Pace is Best
When Richard Vladovic was elected by his colleagues as President of the LA Unified school board in July, observers predicted a much slower moving agenda. Judging by Tuesday’s board meeting, that’s exactly what’s happened. The meeting lasted about 8 hours and wrapped up a bit after 9 pm. That’s not an unheard of duration; some...
By Hillel Aron | September 12, 2013
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Common Core Budget Approval Put Off for Another Week
The LA Unified school board voted, again, to delay its final decision on crafting and approving the $113 million Common Core budget for at least another week. The money comes from the state and is intended to help school districts transition over the next two years to the new curriculum. It appeared to be a...
By Hillel Aron | September 10, 2013