LA School Report

 *UPDATED Have you heard there’s an election this Tuesday? Most likely, if you’re a regular reader of LA School Report, you certainly have, but it’s probably also likely that your friends and neighbors — or the parents you’re dropping off your kids with — have no idea there’s an election. What’s on the ballot? Two...

From Camden, New Jersey, to Los Angeles, funding for charter schools continues to lag behind that of traditional public schools in many cities by an average of $5,721 per student, according to a new report from researchers at the University of Arkansas. The university’s Department of Education Reform on Wednesday released “Charter School Funding: Inequity...

It’s almost over, and there won’t be another LA Unified School board race until the next presidential election in November 2020. This year’s campaigns have become heated — absurd at times — and so we decided to take a look at some of the highs and lows. Some of this the campaigners may not want...

Two charter schools under federal investigation were denied their last chance to appeal their charter petition by the California State Board of Education on Thursday, meaning they will close after the current school year. The unanimous vote against the two schools marks the end of a frustrating battle that escalated when the school petitions were initially rejected...

It’s tough to make predictions of voter turnout in Los Angeles city elections — not even the city clerk does it, but a surefire bet is that despite the most money ever spent on a school board election in U.S. history, there will still be a poor turnout. Past LA Unified elections show that interest...

Kelly Gonez and Imelda Padilla are two political newcomers who are running for the east San Fernando Valley seat on the LA Unified school board. Both are young Latinas who grew up in the district. LA School Report sat down separately with each of them to ask what differentiates them. In many ways, the District...

Always with an appetite for dishing up something new for school meals, LA Unified’s school board unanimously approved a pilot program to test vegan options on their school menus. At least one school in each of the seven regional districts will get their first taste of a non-animal-based school lunch, and the program is being prepared...

By Evelyn Aleman Macias As a Los Angeles Unified School District parent, school volunteer, and a member of the district’s Parent Advisory Council for the Local Control Funding Formula, I’m often dismayed by the ongoing rift between charter and non-charter school advocates. The issue seems to become even more of a focal point during elections,...

Los Angeles is days away from the finish line in the most expensive school board race in U.S. history. So it’s all about money. But what money, exactly? The $11.4 million in campaign spending? The $1.6 billion projected deficit for LA Unified? The nearly $1 billion in state funding that has left the district, as...

A sweeping technology plan for LA Unified that included an expanded unified enrollment system was postponed Tuesday night as school board members await more information and staff adds up the total costs. The school board was being asked to set aside money for a unified enrollment system even as one has launched on the district’s website this week...