Despite claims by Superintendent Ramon Cortines that LA Unified could lose $171 million in federal funding without an agreement with the teachers union on a teacher evaluation system, state officials say the money may not be at risk, at all. For weeks, Cortines has urged UTLA to accept a proposal with a three-level overall teacher...

The LA Unified School Board’s Successful School Climate Committee got an update on the district’s diversion program, not only with statistics but also with a student who said it had changed his life and his mother, who said she “thanks God” for it. The program, which has been in effect since the beginning of the...

A mediator from the state’s labor board met for the first time yesterday with negotiators from LA Unified and the teachers union, UTLA, to move contract negotiations forward. But the result was a gulf between the sides that remains wide as ever. How wide? “At this time, the union’s economic demands remain $774 million dollars...

The LA teachers union, UTLA, has decided to endorse LA Unified school board President Richard Vladovic in his reelection bid for the District 7 board seat. While it’s his third run for the seat, it’s the first time the teachers are throwing support his way, making him that rare candidate who has won the endorsements...

As California considers emergency legislation to solve the drought crisis, LA Unified is working with city and state agencies to reduce water consumption across campuses by ripping out water-sucking grass lawns in place of native plants, swapping outdated toilets for low-flush units and recycling gray water throughout neighboring school communities. As the largest district in...

Four Democratic California lawmakers joined forces yesterday to promote new bills aimed at creating more stringent regulation of the state’s charter schools. If passed, the package of bills would bring big changes to the charter schools, including a requirement that they be run as non-profits, that charters be considered government entities and that all of...

The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) elected a new president on March 19, with Juan A. Flecha winning 60.16 percent of the vote. Flecha beat Randall Delling, who received 39.84 percent, according to AALA’s newsletter. Flecha will take office July 1 and will replace Judy Perez, who is retiring. “He is currently assigned as Administrator...

While the teachers union and LA Unified are united in spirit that the district should not lose $47 million in state money over faulty attendance record keeping, their disagreement on another issue could cost them nearly four times as much from Washington. The district has until March 31 to apply for federal waiver that allows...

Superintendent Ramon Cortines made it official late yesterday, restructuring LA Unified’s Educational Service Centers into geographically based offices, a move that adds two new centers and eliminates the Intensive Support and Innovation Center that worked across the district. The centers are regional resource offices serving schools and students within their designated boundaries; they facilitate school...

The California Charter School Association (CCSA) is calling “simply inaccurate” a report released yesterday that said state charter schools require more financial oversight. The report from the Center for Popular Democracy, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and Public Advocates estimated the state would lose $100 million this year from fraud, waste and mismanagement at charter schools and called for...