At its Tuesday, February 12 meeting, the LAUSD School Board will vote on whether or not approve phase one of Superintendent John Deasy’s plan to equip every student and teacher with a tablet computer by the end of 2014. As you may recall, the Bond Oversight Committee recently voted to recommend that the Board approve...

There is, arguably, just one School Board candidate running a truly grassroots campaign built on dozens of volunteers and more than a hundred* small contributions of as little as $5 — and little else by way of outside support. His name is Robert Skeels. Skeels is one of several candidates running for the Eastside District...

At a candidate forum in Northridge yesterday, Mayoral hopeful Eric Garcetti did some serious dodging when asked if he would vote for School Board President Monica Garcia, who is running for re-election in East Long Angeles’ District 2: “I admire Monica Garcia a lot,” said Garcetti, who has complained about teacher-bashing and recently received an endorsement...

LA School Report has learned that the Coalition for School Reform will begin airing television advertisements for each of its slate of three candidates starting later this week. Here is the first ad, for Antonio Sanchez: Producing TV spots and buying airtime is very expensive.  That’s one reason there hasn’t been a substantial TV campaign...

As KPCC reported on Friday, United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) has endorsed Eric Garcetti for Mayor but has no plans to spend any money to campaign for him. “We’re focusing our money on the School Board races,” UTLA secondary Vice President Gregg Solkovits explained to LA School Report. But UTLA won’t be focusing equally on...

In a conversation with LA School Report, City Council member and mayoral candidate Jan Perry praised Mayor Villaraigosa’s efforts in the field of education and “pursuing better outcomes for students.” Perry said she would support the Mayor’s Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, and she hopes Villaraigosa will continue to play a role in the organization. “When...

Before Monday’s debate, the topic of education had been largely AWOL from the Mayoral campaign.  This might have seemed odd, considering what a huge role education issues played in outgoing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s eight years in office. However, the five leading candidates are now beginning to stake out positions on education in order to attract...

Thursday night’s School Board candidates forum offered three political newcomers a chance to introduce themselves to voters of the East Valley’s District 6. Monica Ratliff introduced herself to the assembled group of community members and reporters as a teacher of a high-performing public school (San Pedro Elementary) in one of the poorest areas in the...

Now whittled down to three candidates — Maria Cano, Antonio Sanchez, and Monica Ratliff  — the race for the East Valley’s District 6 features a cast of relative unknowns endorsed by the teachers union. However, one of them — newcomer Antonio Sanchez — is the front-runner by virtue of the additional endorsements and independent expenditure...

In its first meeting of the new term, UTLA’s governing body (called the House of Representatives) voted to endorse Eric Garcetti (pictured) for Mayor, by a 146 to 12 vote. “We look forward to working with Eric Garcetti as Mayor.  He listens to teachers,” said UTLA President Warren Fletcher in a statement (download it here). As...