LA School Report

Last night, the increasingly star-studded effort to improve education in Los Angeles got a boost from several members of the cast of “Les Miserables” and other Hollywood stars, who turned out for a party hosted by Vanity Fair to raise money for the LA Fund for Public Education. Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha...

While no one yet knows who will ultimately win the three contested School Board races, there are already some big winners among campaign consultants (who get paid no matter what). As you can see below, big money has been flowing out from independent expenditure committees and campaigns to consultants who specialize in mailers, TV ads,...

Here’s some footage of Eva Longoria and District 4 School Board challenger Kate Anderson: According to the clip, the “Desperate Housewives” star was encouraged to get involved in the LAUSD race by none other than Education Secretary Arne Duncan. No word back yet from Duncan on this yet.

Michelle Rhee Group Donates $250,000 to Candidates in LAUSD Races A group led by former District of Columbia schools chancellor Michelle Rhee donated $250,000 Wednesday to contests for seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education, adding further political fuel to a battle over the direction of reform efforts in the nation’s second-largest school system....

Watch School Board member Tamar Galatzan interview each of the mayoral candidates. It’s about a half-hour long.

Gloria Romero, the former Democratic state legislator who is now heading the California chapter of Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), announced her support for School Board President Monica Garcia last Wednesday, urging supporters to contribute to Garcia’s campaign. The pro-charter, pro-accountability group issued a report card on Garcia and incumbent Steve Zimmer on Thursday morning. However, DFER-California isn’t providing...

In a conversation with LA School Report, mayoral candidate and City Controller Wendy Greuel said she believes “the role of the Mayor should be a strong one in dealing with education.” She was short on policy specifics, although she did say that she would lobby Sacramento to get “more dollars into the classroom.” Greuel, running to...

As we reported here last week, the union independent expenditure committee called UTLA-PACE has sent out a campaign mailer to attack LAUSD Board candidate Kate Anderson, who is challenging incumbent Steve Zimmer in the Westside/Hollywood’s District 4. But according to Anderson, the claims being made are “completely misleading:” The mailer scrutinizes Anderson’s attendance record while she served on...

Outside spending in LAUSD race tops $2 Million Outside spending for the Los Angeles Unified school board campaign has soared past $2 million – including $1 million in the contentious District 4 race that has shaped up as a pitched battle between reform and union interests. LA Daily News See also: LA School Report Huge...

When the LAUSD Board voted last week to approve 12 new “pilot schools,” it was a small but positive sign of change in a school district long troubled by battles among key stakeholders about to how to best improve LA’s many underperforming schools and create successful new options. Pilot schools are the most flexible of...