LA School Report

Despite a state budget deadline looming, it’s possible that LA Unified teachers will start yet another school year without a new contract. The district’s proposed spending budget for 2014-15, which must be approved by the school board and submitted to the state by July, includes a line item for teacher raises that remains to be negotiated with...

LA Unified’s summer school programs are getting a massive injection of money this year, to a whopping $29 million from the current $1 million budget. The surge of cash, drawn from a combination of sources, will increase access to classes for struggling students by 600 percent over the previous two years. Altogether, approximately 60,000 students from...

Fourth in a series of profiles of candidates for LA Unified’s open District 1 board seat. *UPDATED While she may be best known for her TV appearances on Celebrity Apprentice, Omarosa Manigault is relying more on her business and technological know-how to persuade voters she’s worthy of serving as the LA Unified District 1 Board...

An LA Unified District 1 resident who failed to meet the initial filing deadline for the district’s open board seat has announced that she is running as a write-in candidate. Marilyn Veincentotzs said on Twitter that she is running under the name “Marilyn V.” Describing herself as “semi-retired,” Viencentotzes spent 20 years as long-term substitute...

As they rallied for the ouster of their school principal this morning, parents at Carthay Center Elementary School were told their efforts had paid off: Crystal Campbell-Shirley was removed from her post. Instructional Director Autri Streeck notified teachers at the school, then met parents at the rally to tell them what happened. “Everyone’s celebrating that...

Via LA Daily News | By Tamar Galatzan, LA Unified’s board member for District 3 It’s budget time again in Los Angeles Unified, a process that for the last five years meant agonizing decisions to cut programs, scale back services and lay off employees because of the crippling financial crisis. This year, thankfully, the board...

Struggling L.A. schools seek larger class sizes Despite an improving economy and robust tax collections, the Los Angeles School District will petition the state to allow larger class sizes in some of its most under-performing schools through 2014-15.The waiver application, which covers more than 70 school sites, would have in the recent past likely been...

Disgruntled parents from Carthay Center Elementary school in LA Unified’s District 1 are holding rallies this week to build support for removing their principal. Their outrage arose after the principal, Crystal Campbell-Shirley, who is completing her first year at the school, told seven teachers on Friday — half the faculty — that they would not be...

UPDATED* A committee launched last year by LA Unified’s Office of Labor Relations to provide public information on labor negotiations is meeting today to discuss the district’s collective bargaining contracts. That the committee even exists has not been reported until now. Called the “Sunshine Committee,” it is intended to bring transparency to the negotiating process. According...