Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti made it very clear: He didn’t close the schools. Neither did the police chief, nor the county sheriff. That decision was made by LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines, who was supposed to be on his way to retirement this week. “I made the decision to close the schools,” Cortines said...

UPDATED All LAUSD schools were closed today due to a “serious threat” called into the district. The threat was not aimed at any specific school, but was judged credible enough for school officials to close all the campuses, which serve 643,000 students in 900 traditional and 200 charter schools. “This is a rare threat, we get...

More salacious charges against celebrated teacher Rafe Esquith were released this week, and for the first time LAUSD superintendent Ramon Cortines commented publicly about the case. At a forum last night, Cortines said he was surprised about the charges but stood behind the district for taking action, once its investigation was complete. “For me, six...

* UPDATED In what may be his last public appearance as superintendent of LA Unified, Ramon Cortines last night spoke to about 300 people in a wide-ranging discussion that touched on many of the hot-button issues now confronting the district. Sitting alongside Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, who served as moderator, Cortines said Eli Broad’s...

After one meeting last Sunday, two yesterday and another scheduled for the Sunday ahead to winnow the field of candidates for the superintendent job, LA Unified board member are moving along “on schedule,” board President Steve Zimmer said today. “We’re on target,” he said. “It would not be a mischaracterization to see we’re on schedule.”...

LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines and board President Steve Zimmer joined a chorus of praise today from state education leaders as the Senate passed a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, which is now known as the Every Student Succeeds Act. The bill now awaiting the signature of President Obama cuts back on...

* UPDATED The LA Unified school board continued its search for a new superintendent early this morning, moving into another closed session after a one minute open meeting that might have been the shortest in district history. Joining the seven board members in the private session were Hank Gmitro and Darline Robles of the search...

In the wake of the mass shooting yesterday in San Bernardino, both LAUSD school superintendent Ramon Cortines and school board president Steve Zimmer today reaffirmed the district’s commitment to safety at local schools. In a statement, Cortines emphasized, “Every building and school within this District has a safety plan in place.” Zimmer pointed out that extra support...