The Morning Read
Your Daily Roundup of LAUSD news from across the web | 10.05.21
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Antonucci: Want to know where your education dollars go? Take a look at labor costs — it’s nearly all salary and benefits
Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. Any debate about public education finances invariably devolves to whether we are spending enough “in the classroom” and how much “administrative bloat” there is. Textbooks, maintenance, facilities, curriculum and student programs all come under scrutiny, either to find savings or to fight for additional funding....
By Mike Antonucci | May 29, 2019
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New plan for LA schools calls for reorganization around communities and empowers principals to make LAUSD a less ‘complex system’
L.A. Unified’s schools chief has a new plan to simplify the sprawling urban district’s complex system. A little more than a year into his tenure, Superintendent Austin Beutner is betting that by empowering principals he can turn “the organization upside down in a certain way” that puts students at the center. Under the new plan,...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | May 29, 2019
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$500M annual parcel tax unlikely to pass if low voter turnout trend persists, poll shows
L.A. Unified’s proposed $500 million annual parcel tax is unlikely to pass next week if low voter turnout trends continue, a new independent poll finds. The poll, conducted by Probolsky Research, shows that if June 4’s special election sees “high” turnout, or 17 percent of the district’s 2.5 million eligible voters, the parcel tax could be on the...
By Taylor Swaak | May 28, 2019
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Commentary: To empower a child for success in school and in life, start with an eye exam and a pair of glasses
Uncorrected vision conditions are among the biggest public health problems in the United States, affecting 1 in every 4 children, according to the American Optometric Association. Only 39 percent of students referred for an eye exam through a routine vision screening visit an eye doctor, and the gap is even larger in high-poverty communities. A California study by...
By Meghan Lynch and Ann Hollister | May 28, 2019
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Charter school showdown in Sacramento: Assembly moves forward with package of powerful regulations as proponents and teachers unions clash
The biggest statewide battle over charter schools in the country is coming to a head in California. Amid competing protests in Sacramento on Wednesday, the California Assembly narrowly passed legislation that would give local school districts sole authority to approve new charter schools. The bill, titled AB 1505, is one of several new measures the...
By Noble Ingram | May 24, 2019
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Commentary: Foster youth and homeless students need stable schools — and L.A. County has a plan to provide them
Here in L.A. County, we have students facing incredible challenges: • 38% of all children in foster care in California reside in Los Angeles County. • Only 58% of young people in foster care graduate from high school. • Nearly 10% of the homeless population in Los Angeles County is under 18. To help these students achieve and succeed, we need...
By Dr. Debra Duardo | May 24, 2019
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Antonucci: As L.A. voters weigh a parcel tax, here’s a stroll through 31 years of California school funding claims
Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. In two weeks, a small percentage of those who live within the boundaries of the Los Angeles Unified School District will go to the polls to vote on Measure EE, a parcel tax designed to raise an estimated $500 million annually for the city’s schools. How will...
By Mike Antonucci | May 22, 2019
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Brown v. Board at 65: Will schools ever be integrated?
Brown v. Board of Education has been called the Supreme Court’s finest hour, and it is perhaps the most critical single event in the history of American education. In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court swept aside more than a half-century of legal segregation, paved the way for the groundbreaking civil rights legislation of the 1960s...
By Kevin Mahnken | May 22, 2019
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Bernie Sanders’s K-12 proposal would more than double the federal education budget: 6 of his top spending priorities
Following his proposal Friday to limit charter schools, Sen. Bernie Sanders over the weekend released perhaps the most substantive K-12 platform of any of the major presidential candidates. It touches nearly every area of K-12 policy, from protections for LGBT students to teacher pay to special education, but perhaps what sticks out most of all...
By Carolyn Phenicie | May 21, 2019
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Commentary: LAUSD is asking for a $500 million parcel tax. In return, let the schools decide how to spend their new funds
Many of the country’s largest school districts decentralize funding to schools (yes, schools) and let the schools — not the district — design budgets that work best for their particular mix of students. Not the Los Angeles Unified School District. LAUSD is the country’s second-largest district, yet its financials remain stubbornly centralized and widely criticized....
By Marguerite Roza and Anthony Drew | May 20, 2019