UPDATED at 10:55 pm With mail-in ballots and more than three-quarters of the precincts counted, George McKenna had expanded his lead over Alex Johnson — 13,041 votes to 11,827 — for the open LA Unified District 1 board seat. The early totals included 17,483 mail-in ballots as well as results from 247 of the district’s 324 precincts...

The vacuum is ending today, as polls remain open until 8 p.m. for District 1 voters to select a school board member. It’s been vacant since the death of Marguerite LaMotte in December, and now, either George McKenna or Alex Johnson is going to succeed her. McKenna won the June primary by 20 percentage points,...

Brown administration opposes $9-billion schools bond Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration came out Monday against a $9-billion school-facilities bond proposed by California lawmakers for the November statewide ballot. LA Times Friday deadline for California school district spending plans As part of Gov. Jerry Brown’s new school funding scheme, districts will get at least a 7 percent...

George McKenna and Alex Johnson appeared yesterday in the KNBC Sunday talk show, “News Conference,” and it was as close to a debate as the candidates for LA Unified’s District 1 board seat have had since the June 3 primary propelled them into tomorrow’s runoff. McKenna had the advantage in time, appearing for 8 minutes, 45...

5 differences between Alex Johnson and George McKenna Little known fact: there’s an election tomorrow! A very special election! A special election, that is, for the District 1 L.A. Unified Board of Education seat, which pits political aide Alex Johnson against longtime administrator George McKenna. LA Weekly L.A. literacy program unites families, boosts kids’ reading...

In a deal with UTLA, the teachers union, LA Unified said late today it will provide $10,000 stipends that pay for mentor teachers to help instructors at 37 highly-challenged schools. The mentors qualify for funding over the next three school years at campuses included in the Reed case court settlement. The goal is to reduce high...

Mid-career and late-career teachers are not earning what they deserve, nor are they able to gain the salaries that support a middle-class existence, concludes a new report on teacher salaries from the Washington-based research group, the Center for American Progress. Even mid- and late-career teachers in states with some of the high salaries are grappling...

With LA Unified’s District 1 election approaching, LA School Report asked each of the candidates, Alex Johnson and George McKenna, a series of questions about some of the bigger challenges facing the district. The effort was based on the fact — an unfortunate one for voters — that the two have not appeared together for a policy debate since...

Beverly Hills teachers poised to be highest paid in L.A. county Beverly Hills teachers are on track to become the highest paid in L.A. County as a result of an innovative bargaining agreement that ties raises to property tax increases. BH Courier Why LAUSD’s district 1 race matters What if they held an election and...

Since the June 3 primary that produced Alex Johnson and George McKenna as the finalists for LA Unified’s District 1 board seat election on Aug. 12, the candidates have engaged in no public debates that would give voters a better opportunity to learn their views on contemporary issues. As a result, LA School Report has...