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Teachers drop salary demand again as LAUSD holds on class size
The LA Unified teachers union, UTLA, dropped its salary demand yesterday to an 8.5 percent increase from a 9 percent, the union’s third consecutive lowering of what many teachers consider the most important issue in negotiations for a new contract. As part of the change, UTLA negotiators also asked the district for an annual $1,000...
By Vanessa Romo | January 23, 2015
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For Cortines and UTLA, class size reduction is LAUSD priority
* UPDATED As contract negotiations plod along between LA Unified and the teachers union, UTLA, the issue of class size reduction has taken on a new urgency for Superintendent Ramon Cortines, who plans to shrink the number of students in middle school and high school classrooms by the end of the year. “I’m not going...
By Vanessa Romo | November 12, 2014
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Mixed Reactions to Board-Passed Hiring Proposal
The Los Angeles Unified School Board recently passed a motion to return the district to the pre-recession school staffing ratios and class size ratios of 2007-2008. UTLA President Warren Fletcher praised the resolution, arguing that Board member Bennett Kayser’s proposal would remedy the “current degraded levels of funding, staffing and the ballooning class sizes.” However, some education experts and...
By Brianna Sacks | July 8, 2013
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Defiant Deasy Says He’ll Push Targeted Spending Plan Anyway
During Tuesday’s seemingly endless meeting, the LAUSD School Board postponed Board member Tamar Galatzan’s resolution to have new State education funds flow to schools with large numbers of low-income and English language learning students and approved Board member Bennett Kayser’s resolution calling for the district to hire more staff across the board. The votes seemed like...
By Hillel Aron | June 20, 2013
Investigation: Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died in Federal Boarding Schools
Podcast: What a Mentorship Mindset Can Do for Student Motivation
Black and Hispanic Voters Say Democrats Aren’t Focused Enough on K-12 Education
Teen Activist Rhea Maniar on the Power of Abortion to Turn Out Young Voters
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Marathon Board Meeting Signals Changes to Come
As anyone following us on Twitter knows all too well, Tuesday’s School Board meeting was a marathon session that lasted well into the night — much of it accompanied by the sound of protesters drumming on the street outside. Among several key decisions the Board arrived at during the lengthy session were votes to award a...
By Hillel Aron | June 19, 2013
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Fact Check: Is LAUSD Required to Hire Teachers / Lower Class Sizes?
LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy and perhaps a couple of School Board members would rather give teachers raises and fund programs with any new money coming in rather than hire back teachers and lower class sizes. But is it up to them? Hiring teachers and lowering class sizes is contractually required, according to LAUSD teacher Brent...
By Alexander Russo | June 12, 2013
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Board Likely Approves Call to Re-Hire Teachers
Starting in July, the composition and leadership of LAUSD’s School Board will change substantially. District 6’s Nury Martinez will be out, replaced by Monica Ratliff, and Monica Garcia will step down as Board President, thanks to term limits motion passed by the Board in March. But the shifts in direction for the Board are already...
By Hillel Aron | June 7, 2013
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Coming Showdown Between Programs & Hiring
So expect school districts to go on a spending binge this summer—Los Angeles Unified School District aims to equip all of its 650,000 students with tablet computers—and then unions in the fall to protest draconian budget cuts and layoffs. – Allysia Finley in the Wall Street Journal (California’s Shrinking Surplus) Previous posts: Union Focusing on...
By LA School Report | May 17, 2013
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Morning Read: Behind the Spending in the Board Race
Outside Groups Trying to Influence L.A. School Board Races Outside groups are mounting campaigns to influence the outcome of three races for seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education. LA Times See also: LA School Report L.A. Schools Need Technology, but Can We Afford It? On Tuesday, the Los Angeles School Board will consider...
By Samantha Oltman | February 11, 2013
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Morning Read: Union Wants Reduced Class Sizes
CTA Targets Class-Size Waivers The almost automatic approval that school districts have received for class-size waivers from the California State Board of Education during the past four years may be facing serious opposition from the state’s powerful teachers lobby. SI&A Cabinet Report Rockers Help Students Roll on Toward Understanding Members of Ozomatli visit Hawthorne High...
By Samantha Oltman | January 23, 2013