At the first LA Unified school board meeting of the year on Tuesday, Leon Popa found himself sitting through a long, grueling ordeal. “Leon Popa has now spent more time at this meeting than he did all day at school,” said school board President Steve Zimmer. And that was only halfway through a meeting that...

The LA Unified school board this week awarded, renewed or revised requests from 10 charter schools, and two applications for new schools were rejected. Some of the approvals came with specific warnings by board members to shape up. The charter approvals came at the same meeting that the board unanimously condemned the Eli Broad-affiliated group,...

The LA Unified school board yesterday became the first elected body to ask government officials to move one of the largest above-ground butane gas facilities in the country. Located in San Pedro, the highly-flammable gas is housed in two storage tanks not far from three LAUSD school sites. School board member Richard Vladovic, who represents...

The LA Unified school board spent more than an hour last night, debating dates for the next three academic calendar years. Ultimately, the members decided to keep the schedule similar to this year’s — starting in mid-August with three weeks of winter break — but only for one year. The plan passed on a 5-2...

The LA Unified board today put itself on record as opposing a proposal that originated with the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation to expand the number of charter schools in the district in the years ahead. By a 7-0 vote, the board made it clear that it would do what it could to discourage the...

The LA Unified school board today unanimously approved a $350,000 annual contract for the district’s new superintendent Michelle King. The contract runs through June 30 of 2018, provides a district-owned car and driver for King and does not include a buyout clause. The deal is $50,000 more annually than her predecessor, Ramon Cortines, received, and...

Charter school administrators, alumni and parents appeared today at a morning meeting of the LA Unified school to oppose a resolution that will ask the board to condemn any threat to the school system through a proliferation of charter schools. “Resolutions like this distract us and are perpetuating harmful myths in the community,” Rachel Hazlehurst,...

The LA Unified school district is analyzing why certain charter schools operate on split campuses. In a report being presented to the school board at a meeting today, the staff found 24 charters using shared facilities on two traditional school sites, and one-third of them are divided among three sites. Representatives of LA Unified charters...

* UPDATED After a three-month nationwide search, the LA Unified school board today kept it all in the family, naming Michelle King, a district teacher and administrator for nearly 30 years, to serve as its new superintendent. She succeeds Ramon Cortines whom she served as chief deputy until he stepped down last month. The 54-year-old...

After three revisions, a resolution aimed at curtailing future charter school expansion in LA Unified is finally coming before the school board for a vote on Tuesday. While the measure is largely symbolic in that it cannot change policy regarding charter growth — that is a state matter — it’s a way to open a “difficult conversation...