* UPDATED   LA Unified is getting close to fixing its schools most in need of repair. Superintendent Ramon Cortines has developed a priority list for rehabilitating 11 campuses, once the Bond Oversight Committee, then the school board approve his plans. In a memo to school board members last week, Cortines said he would present...

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 Refugio Rodriguez, a candidate for the District 5 seat. What do you say to a man who founded a chain of charter schools but insists he doesn’t want to...

Help wanted: LA Unified is seeking a new Chief Information Officer to fill the post previously held by Ron Chandler, who resigned in October under intense pressure following the disastrous rollout of MISIS. All you have to be is “a dynamic, results oriented technology leader with an exceptional background to lead our Information Technology Division.”...

This is the first in a series of profiles on candidates running in the March 3 primary for the LA Unified school board. Today’s focus is Filiberto Gonzalez, a candidate for the District 3 seat. Filiberto Gonzalez has been raising money for social justice causes since he was a teenager. Now, the cause is himself....

The non-profit behind the Vergara lawsuit, Students Matter, is adding two former LA Unified lightning rods to their ranks. Ex-Superintendent John Deasy and founder of Parent Revolution, Ben Austin, are joining the advocacy group. Students Matter successfully sued the state of California and its public school teachers unions, overturning five laws governing tenure, seniority and...

* UPDATED Bolstered by a more robust state budget, LA Unified today said it was doubling its offer to union teachers for a raise. The latest salary proposal, unveiled during today’s contract negotiations, is a four percent boost across all salary bases. The offer comes on the heels of Governor Jerry Brown’s 2015-16 proposed state budget, which is...

It turns out LA Unified’s money woes aren’t so bad — for now, anyway. Shortly before the end of the calendar year, Superintendent Ramon Cortines and other district officials were forecasting a deficit of $320 million, sometimes closer to $350 million. But that was before Governor Jerry Brown proposed his new budget. Now, the district’s...

Rebranding is not just for discount stores, fast food chains and soda anymore. How about for a school district? To change the public perception of a project at the center of LA Unified’s two ill-fated programs — iPads and MiSiS –Superintendent Ramon Cortines is renaming the Common Core Technology Project. It now goes by the...

LA Unified doesn’t track how many undocumented students are enrolled in the district, but a new resolution could pave the way for providing legal aid to a small number of unaccompanied minors at their deportation proceedings. The school board will vote tomorrow to approve a program called AYUDA – Advocating for Youth Unaccompanied in Deportation...

In its first meeting of 2015, the LA Unified school board tomorrow will debate a range of issues, from students’ eating alone to farm workers’ pay. But it’s the issue of state testing that will have the most immediate and significant impact on more than 300,000 district students. Adding a powerful voice to the growing opposition...