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Candidate files complaints with LAUSD, city ethics against Galatzan

With less than 24 hours to go before the polls open, LA Unified school board candidate Carl Petersen said today that he filed several ethics complaints against Tamar Galatzan, the District 3 incumbent he is challenging in tomorrow’s elections. Petersen levied the same complaints that were filed last week with the City Ethics Commission by candidate Filiberto Gonzalez,...
By Craig Clough | March 2, 2015
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LAUSD board elections tomorrow a referendum on the status quo

The fate of three LA Unified board incumbents — and the influence of charter schools and teachers — is on the line tomorrow when voters cast ballots to decide how satisfied they are with the seven-member board that runs the nation’s second-largest school district. Any candidate winning a majority is in. Without a majority winner,...
By Michael Janofsky | March 2, 2015
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Commentary: LAUSD uses too many walk-on coaches

The Los Angeles Times| By Eric Sondheimer Here’s a statistic from the Los Angeles Unified School District that should set off alarm bells: 58 percent of its coaches from 83 high schools were walk-ons or non-certificated employees during the 2013-14 school year. Only 42 percent were teachers, according to Trenton Cornelius, the district’s coordinator of...
By LA School Report | March 2, 2015
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Kayser, Rodriguez, Thomas make closing arguments for themselves

Together for the final time before Tuesday’s elections, the three candidates for LA Unified’s Board District 5 seat were determined last night to set themselves apart from each other. In a small church in a residential neighborhood in South Gate, incumbent Bennett Kayser, and his opponents, Andrew Thomas and Ref Rodriguez, spoke only to the...
By Vanessa Romo | February 27, 2015
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California, GOP in sync on reducing federal role in education

The Los Angeles Times | By Teresa Watanabe California may be a blue state, but a Republican-led effort to scale back federal intervention in educational reform is drawing support here. As the House of Representatives moves to vote this week on reauthorizing a 50-year-old education reform law, Republicans are pushing to sharply curtail what they...
By LA School Report | February 27, 2015
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Thousands of LA teachers rally downtown for new contract

It was dubbed the “Stand at Grand,” and while it may not have drawn as many as the “Thrilla in Manilla,” it was an impressive turnout of thousands of Los Angeles Unified teachers at Grand Park last night as they rallied to demand a new contract. With City Hall behind him and a massive crowd...
By Craig Clough | February 27, 2015
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LA Unified, trades union reach agreement on three-year deal

The Los Angeles Unified School District has reached agreement with the union on a new labor agreement. No, not that union The district and Unit E, Los Angeles/Orange County Building and Trades Council, which represents 1,300 electricians, plumbers, carpenters, roofers and other skilled workers, have agreed to terms on a three-year deal that includes a...
By LA School Report | February 26, 2015
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Groundbreaking on new school; Chang finalist for Boston job

LA Unified broke ground Saturday on South Region High School #8 with a ceremony attended by district and community leaders. The school is the last of 131 to be built under the district’s current $27 billion bond program. The school will be on a 9.24 acre campus consisting of three learning communities, according to LA...
By Craig Clough | February 26, 2015
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A snapshot look at Kayser’s positions on major LAUSD issues

While the LA Unified’s District 5 board incumbent, Bennett Kayser, did not make himself available for an interview with LA School Report as part of our candidate profile series, he has nonetheless played a high profile role on issues before the school board during his term in office. With strong support from the teachers union, UTLA,...
By Vanessa Romo | February 26, 2015
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Analysis: Graham lawsuit poses serious questions for LAUSD board

We’ve all seen this in person or on TV: One lawyer says something provocative or inappropriate, and the opposing lawyer leaps to his feet, saying “Objection, your honor.” “Sustained,” says the judge. “The jury will disregard that last remark.” After yesterday, we’re now all in the jury box, trying to figure out what to make...
By Michael Janofsky | February 26, 2015