LA School Report

The LA Unified school board is meeting today at 4 p.m., after which it might announce who will replace Ramon Cortines as superintendent. Cortines retired in December and his deputy, Michelle King, was named acting superintendent. The district plans to livestream any announcement and press conference that would follow.  

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today in a case that could undermine the financial stability of teacher unions in California and 23 other states. The lawsuit, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, challenges the right of states to require public sector employees to pay compulsory dues to unions doing collective bargaining on their behalf. Even employees who...

*UPDATED One day later than the rest of the district, students from two schools in Porter Ranch impacted by a major gas leak are expected to begin classes tomorrow at two different schools miles away after LA Unified crews worked over the winter break to prep the sites. The 1,850 students from Porter Ranch Community School and Castlebay...

* UPDATED LA Unified’s selection of a new superintendent could end as early as this afternoon with the board announcing a successor to Ramon Cortines after a months-long search. The finalists are believed to be Michelle King, the current interim, and Kelvin Adams, superintendent of public schools in St. Louis. A special board meeting has been...

By Lisa Leff Soaring tax revenues have carried per-pupil education spending in California beyond where it stood before the recession, but even the record sum proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown is unlikely to reverse the state’s standing as a comparative miser when it comes to investing in public schools, advocates and education officials said. Brown,...

L.A. schools insider and an outsider emerge as favorites to lead the district Attention appears to be focused on two candidates: Deputy Supt. Michelle King, an LAUSD insider, and Kelvin Adams, a superintendent from St. Louis. Los Angeles Times, by Howard Blume What students and parents are expecting from the Porter Ranch relocation When the...

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...

After a rash of suicides by local teenagers’ hanging themselves, jumping off rooftops and throwing themselves in front of subways, the mayor of Nagoya, Japan turned to LA Unified for help, and what he got is an anti-bullying campaign that is now a model for schools in Japan. Holly Priebe-Diaz, who helped put together the LAUSD anti-bullying...

It’s time, right? We’ve known for ages that Ramon Cortines was stepping down as LA Unified superintendent. The process to replace him has been going on for months, and the end appears in sight. So, here are 10 reasons why we might know the new boss on Monday, when the board is scheduled to meet again....