Your donation will help us produce journalism like this. Please give today.

It was “pencils down” day yesterday, for the members of the Parent Advisory Committee, who completed their first opportunity to weigh in on LA Unified’s Local Control and Accountability Plan, the so-called LCAP required of Gov. Jerry Brown‘s new Local Control Funding Formula.

The 47 parents and guardians selected to give feedback, have had two weeks to “live with” Superintendent John Deasy’s proposed 2014-15 school year budget. However,  Rowena Lagrosa, Executive Director of the district’s Parent Community Services Branch, admitted to LA School Report, “Some came more prepared than others.”

“Like all of us, when we’re given something to read as an assignment, we might have good intentions, but you show up that day and . . .” she trailed off. Later she explained, “It’s a heavy document that is filled with terminology inherent to LA Unified, which made it challenging to get through on their own.”

In anticipation of such an outcome, Parent Educator Coaches were assigned to lead groups of four to six committee members through the document and supporting materials section by section. Afterward, they outlined priorities for each of Deasy’s goals.

Lagrosa said it’s too early to identify trends for what are must-haves for parents, but the information will be compiled and presented to Deasy by the May 13 school board meeting.

The public can weigh in on the LCAP during the public speaking portion of the meeting.