Fueling the impasse announced yesterday between the teachers union, UTLA, and LA Unified is a dispute over so-called “unaccounted” sources of money that the teachers union says could be used for raises and other demands. “We are bargaining in good faith but when we uncover a $59 million pot of money the district doesn’t know...

No more Mr. Nice Guys. Last night’s forum for the three candidates in the LA Unified District 5 board race included lots of head shaking, some eye rolling, silently mouthing words (“That’s not true”) and at least one tiff. Perhaps some of the frustration was due to changing rules. Initially there was no time set...

This is the next in a series of profiles on candidates running in the March 3 primary for the LA Unified school board. Today’s focus is Tamar Galatzan, who is seeking reelection for the District 3 seat. Incumbent Tamar Galatzan is at the center of the most crowded race for an LA Unified school board...

LA Unified will be conducting a district-wide dress rehearsal on Thursday for the upcoming Smarter Balance exam, California’s new standardized test assessing students on Common Core State Standards. The aim is to identify and resolve any glitches in the technological infrastructure before the tests are given, Lydia Ramos, a district spokesperson told LA School Report....

Incumbent Bennett Kayser appeared spoiling for a fight last night, sharing the stage with his two challengers for the LA Unified District 5 board seat at a candidate forum in El Sereno. Right out of the gate, he goaded PUC charter school founder Ref Rodriguez and education researcher Andrew Thomas to state their positions on Prop 39, a...

LA Unified lawyers will start taking on student deportation cases on a pro-bono and volunteer basis, making it the first school district in the country to represent immigrant children. Under the new legal program called AYUDA — that’s Spanish for “help” — district lawyers will provide legal aid to a small number of unaccompanied minors...

This is the next in a series of profiles on candidates running in the March 3 primary for the LA Unified school board. Today’s focus is Andrew Thomas, a candidate for the District 5 seat. When Andrew Thomas’s two children started at John Marshall High School in Los Feliz, the 49-year-old dad was disappointed in...

* UPDATED Why put off until tomorrow . . .well, you get the idea. In the case of the LA Unified school board, the answer is that sometimes you don’t have the votes. Which is exactly what happened last month on a resolution to allow district lawyers to work pro-bono on student deportation cases through...

* UPDATED After days of tension leading to the first debate with all three candidates running for LA Unified’s board District 5 on March 3, a forum last night at Eagle Rock High School played out with a relatively civil tone and a focus more on policy than politics. Surprisingly, incumbent Bennett Kayser, who is...

As the teachers union’s negotiations with LA Unified drag on, one of the nation’s leading voices for teachers appeared at an event last night hosted by district board member Steve Zimmer and made a strong case for union activity and solidarity. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, delivered a fire-and- brimstone-type address to...