Much of the media coverage in the runup to today’s School Board primary election has focused on its possible impact on the fate of Superintendent John Deasy, who is appointed by the seven-member Board. The focus isn’t all that surprising — Deasy is as charismatic as he is divisive. He makes for good copy. Indeed, the...

About 20 teachers sat down in the back room of a Carrow’s restaurant in Santa Monica last night making phone calls reminding registered voters to vote for UTLA-backed District 4 incumbent Steve Zimmer. Volunteers were given cell phones, a list of phone numbers and were allowed to order a meal for up to $10 plus a...

The teachers union’s entire strategy for defeating District 2 incumbent Monica Garcia is predicated on the race going to a runoff.  They’ve spent much of their money attacking her record, and if — as most insiders are predicting — Garcia fails to reach the 50 percent threshold required to avoid a runoff, UTLA has already endorsed...

Predicting the outcome of any political campaign is notoriously difficult — and predicting closely contested School Board races may be especially so. The turnout is generally low, and the polling is weak.  The majority of voters tend to make up their mind while they’re looking at the ballot, and forget who they’ve voted for 10...

In addition to the high-pressure appearance of the candidates for Mayor of Los Angeles, the United Way summit at the LA Convention Center yesterday also included a morning discussion featuring LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, School Board President Monica Garcia, and school reform funders Casey Wasserman and Eli Broad, Not surprisingly, the like-minded panelists generated little...

It was perhaps no surprise that District 4 School Board member Steve Zimmer was visibly upset when he happened to run into Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Deputy Mayor for Education, Joan Sullivan, at today’s United Way education event. “RFK, Joan? Really?” said Zimmer as the two rode the escalator together. “That’s just wrong.” “I don’t know what...

Prior to today’s United Way mayoral candidate’s forum, we had been told to expect Wendy Greuel to “come out” as an “education reformer.” But instead it was Eric Garcetti who took the opportunity to align himself with the so-called reform movement, voicing unequivocal support for LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, the parent trigger law, and even...

In a recent conversation with LA School Report, Dr. Judith Perez, President of the Administrators Union, weighed in on LAUSD’s controversial new teacher evaluation guideline: “It feels rushed to us,” she said. “We understand the judge’s requirement that this be implemented this year. But what happens then is an attitude of, ‘just get it done.'” Perez’s comments,...

In a Mayoral election dominated by the economy and the budget, education has been barely a blip on the leading candidates’ radar screens. For a moment, at least, all that will change on Wednesday, February 27, when the five Mayoral candidates take part in a debate at the United Way’s education summit. The question is...

District 6, which covers the East San Fernando Valley, is the one School Board race where the big special interest groups — the Coalition for School Reform, SEIU and UTLA — have all endorsed the same candidate: Antonio Sanchez. But that hasn’t stopped the Coalition from going negative with a new, double-sided glossy mailer attacking Sanchez’s opponents, Maria Cano and Monica...