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Charters, budgets, expulsions on LA Unified committee agendas
Three LA Unified board committee meetings that were delayed a month by the superintendent search are scheduled back-to-back-to-back tomorrow, all at district headquarters. Some of the issues on the agendas involve the continuing discussion about what it would mean to turn LAUSD into an all-charter school district, early childhood education and new information dealing with...
By Mike Szymanski | January 18, 2016
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LA Unified board approves school calendar but only for one year
The LA Unified school board spent more than an hour last night, debating dates for the next three academic calendar years. Ultimately, the members decided to keep the schedule similar to this year’s — starting in mid-August with three weeks of winter break — but only for one year. The plan passed on a 5-2...
By Mike Szymanski | January 13, 2016
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Broad charter plan faces heavy attack at LAUSD board meeting
* UPDATED The Broad Foundation plan to expand charter schools in LA Unified made an ominous debut before the LA Unified board yesterday as one opponent after another ripped into it as unwanted, unnecessary and destructive to the district and public education in general. The widespread attack came in several forms after the board postponed...
By Mike Szymanski | December 9, 2015
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Rising health benefits have major impact on LAUSD finances
As LA Unified deals with looming deficits that could reach $600 million, a recent independent Financial Report attributes a large share of it to the ever-increasing costs of health benefits for present and retired employees. The district spends 14 percent of its budget on active and retired employee health benefits — which is more than it...
By Mike Szymanski | November 25, 2015
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Inspector seeking more money to conduct audits of LAUSD charters
The LA Unified’s Office of Inspector General told a school board committee this week that it needs an additional $570,000 to audit charter schools, according to a recent report. The OIG once had a staff of 83 and is now down to 57, according to Inspector General Ken Bramlett, whose office oversees a $7.6 million budget....
By Mike Szymanski | November 19, 2015
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After hot debate, LAUSD board refines superintendent criteria
After 90 minutes of contentious debate, the LAUSD school board agreed on a list of desired characteristics for the superintendent candidates they will begin interviewing. The discussion ran the gamut from the definition of the word “bold” to whether the members wanted someone with experience in an “urban environment.” Ultimately, the one-page list of desired...
By Mike Szymanski | November 17, 2015
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LAUSD board drawn to charter-like autonomy for entire district
An LAUSD budget committee discussing the unlikely possibility of establishing an all-charter school district today found merit nonetheless in seeking waivers from state rules that grant charters a greater degree of autonomy than traditional schools have. Mónica Ratliff, chair of the Budget, Facilities and Audit Committee, said that it didn’t seem fair that the charter...
By Mike Szymanski | November 17, 2015
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A special LAUSD board meeting to define superintendent profile
The LAUSD school board plans a meeting tomorrow afternoon to set the guidelines for a Leadership Profile that the board will us in picking the next school superintendent. The meeting was called last week after the search firm of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates presented its compilation of input from community forums, private interviews and surveys....
By Mike Szymanski | November 16, 2015
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JUST IN: Ratliff exploring LAUSD conversion to a charter district
In what appears to be a strategy to undermine the Broad Foundation’s proposal to move half of district students into charter schools, LA Unified board member Mónica Ratliff is exploring the possibility of turning the entire district into a charter organization. Part of the agenda of the Nov. 17 meeting of the district’s Budget, Facilities and...
By Mike Szymanski | November 12, 2015
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For the LA Unified board, a long day of discussions, disputes and votes
The LA Unified School Board convened at 10 a.m. and didn’t adjourn until more than 12 hours later yesterday, in a series of meetings that ran the gamut from moving forward on finding a new superintendent, to confronting ugly budget realities to diving into the minutiae of charter school applications. For background information, each member...
By Mike Szymanski | November 11, 2015