He may never have won direct control over LAUSD and he may or may not ever get a Cabinet appointment.  He may have only a few more weeks before his replacement is picked. But outgoing LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa still enjoys some big days on the education reform front. Today included news that Villaraigosa had...

LA School Report has learned that the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission is at fault in an election disclosure discrepancy reported here earlier today. According to the Commission, due to human error, the City Ethics site did not make public independent expenditures (IEs) made by the teachers union political arm, UTLA-PACE, for LAUSD school board...

Today’s KPCC notes that a handful of big-name Hollywood types have begun donating campaign funds to the LAUSD School Board race for the first time — most of it in support of School Board President Monica Garcia. If recent history is any guide, they won’t be the only relative newcomers who write checks (or make endorsements) in the...

Over the weekend, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) Director of Communications Suzanne Spurgeon emailed us a statement about our Friday story on how UTLA has been reporting and spending its money so far in the LAUSD School Board campaign: “To our knowledge PACE has reported expenditures in a timely and proper manner. If there have...

In her new book, Follow the Money, political scientist Sarah Reckhow discusses the rise of a new generation of education philanthropists, the differences among them, and how their work has played out in some big city school systems.  In a recent blog post, Lessons From Los Angeles, Reckhow asserts that reform efforts in Los Angeles have...

“Los Angeles and Denver have pivotal elections this year that will go a long way toward sorting out the longevity of the ambitious reform efforts of their superintendents,” writes Andy “Eduwonk” Rotherham in his recent list of 5 Issues To Watch In 2013:  “Look for a lot of money from all sides, but, after voters have...

Earlier this month, the political arm of the Los Angeles teachers union known as UTLA-PACE unveiled a new “Join PACE” website devoted almost entirely to the upcoming LAUSD elections. But there is no sign yet that it has filed disclosure paperwork with the City Ethics Committee. As a tax-exempt labor organization, the union is allowed to advocate...

The latest campaign contribution disclosures filed with the City reveal that LAUSD employees are not shy about kicking in money to support their favorite School Board candidates — a practice which is legal as long as the contribution is not solicited: Steve Zimmer, the incumbent running on the Westside for the District 4 seat, has...

LA School Report readers, we’re taking Monday, January 21 off from our regular reporting activities for a Martin Luther King Jr. day of service. If you also have the day off, here are some ways you can volunteer and give back to your community: City Year is hosting a service day to beautify high-needs Belmont...

Saturday provides dueling campaign events in LAUSD Board District 2, which includes Central and East Los Angeles. Candidate Robert Skeels is inviting supporters to walk the precincts in Boyle Heights to get out the word on his campaign (for details, click here). Perhaps not coincidentally, it’s the same day that his opponent, incumbent Monica Garcia...