* UPDATED LA Unified today increased its salary offer to the teachers union, UTLA, offering a one-year deal with a 6 percent increase. The district said in a press release the money would be distributed through a 2 percent ongoing salary increase retroactive to July 1; a 2 percent lump-sum payment based on 2013-14 earnings;...

LA Unified and Teamsters Local 572, the union which represents school administrative assistants and several other school supervisory staff groups, have reached a tentative new agreement. The three-year agreement includes a number of items, including changes to some food service practices, allowing employees to participate in a semi-monthly pay cycle, the creation of an advisory committee...

While LA Unified officials yesterday dealt with the FBI probe into the district’s controversial iPad program, the school board approved a wave of new instructional hires and promotions despite an on-going hiring freeze. The personnel changes continue a shake-up at the highest levels of the organizational chart that began when Superintendent Ramon Cortines arrived just over...

The LA Unified school board, gathering again tomorrow, will appear in open session long enough to hear the introduction of a largely symbolic measure, a resolution to support President Obama’s executive order on immigration. Then, the members will disappear into a closed meeting to review the usual subjects of closed meetings — personnel moves, litigation...

Announcing the next phase of the digital device program to buy more iPads and Chromebooks was the easy part. Carrying it out is another issue. While LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines was pretty clear on how he expected it to proceed, others in the district are not so sure. The district’s Chief Facilities Director says...

The Los Angeles Unified School District has just announced a settlement today in civil cases stemming from the actions of a former teacher at Miramonte Elementary School. The school district resolved the remaining Miramonte litigation at issue for a total of $139,250,000. “There is nothing more important to us than the safety of the students...

The LA Unified Bond Oversight Committee today agreed to approve another $25 million in bond fund spending to help the district fix MiSiS problems and equip schools with computers for standardized testing in the Spring. A team of district officials, including Superintendent Ramon Cortines, made lengthy presentations to the nine member committee, insisting that in...

The long awaited Inspector General report on LA Unified’s botched MiSiS program found the development and implementation of the student data management system “grossly inadequate,” lacking sufficient resources, oversight and management. While the report, requested by board member Tamar Galatzan, took three months to complete, the overall findings by the district’s Inspector General, Ken Bramlett, largely echoed observations...

The LA Unified school board last night took the first step in making ethnic studies a required course for graduation by 2019, making it the second district in the country to adopt such a measure. The resolution, proposed by board members Bennett Kayser, George McKenna and Steve Zimmer passed with Tamar Galatzan casting the only vote against...

LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines told the school board today that the beleaguered MiSiS program will need at least another year of remediation before it functions properly. “The MiSiS project isn’t going to be a quick fix,” he said, as if that came as much of a surprise. “It’s estimated that it will take a...