With tomorrow’s noon deadline approaching to file for next year’s LA Unified school board elections, the races are coming into view. Seats in four of the board’s seven districts — 1, 3, 5 and 7 — are up for grabs, making the elections hugely influential on future district policies. All four of the incumbents are...

Would-be candidates for next year’s LA Unified school board elections have until noon on Saturday, Nov. 8 to file a Declaration of Intention to run with the Los Angeles City Clerk.  Only those candidates who meet the deadline and submit a qualifying nominating petition will appear on the March 3, 2015 primary ballot. The deadline for...

In his first open address to the LA Unified school board since he was rehired as superintendent last week, Ramon Cortines promised accountability, transparency and constant communication. “I know the buck stops here,” he told the seven members during a brief address that included an update on the district’s flawed student data software program, MiSiS....

In case there were any chance LA Unified‘s new superintendent, Ramon Cortines, had forgotten just how bizarro school board meetings can be, his first one back today as head of the district included accusations of embezzlement, murder and sexual harassment. Welcome back, Mr. Superintendent. While the school board voted unanimously to approve the $300,000 a year contract Cortines...

By Michelle Crames My daughter started Kindergarten this year, and part of why I enrolled her in public school was that things were getting better, and my belief that our family’s energy and resources could contribute to bettering our community. Two months after her start, we learn that Superintendent John Deasy, who has provided leadership...

The Los Angeles City Council is considering a measure that would extend the terms of the next school board election winners to 5 1/2 years, from the usual 4. The longer terms would only apply to the next two school board voting cycles, bringing the board elections into even-numbered years that correspond with other city...

MiSiS mistakes were made, and LA Unified can expect to fork over millions more dollars to fix the software system’s myriad problems and get the program functioning properly. In all, it was another demoralizing revelation about the MiSiS rollout debacle last night, and school board members’ frustrations quickly boiled over, leading to a verbal beat...

John Deasy is still the LA Unified superintendent. The district board met for more than 13 hours yesterday, including seven in closed session, where Deasy’s employment status was on the agenda. But the members emerged after a final 30 minutes in closed session at 11 o’clock last night with no announcements. That means that the...

Community groups supportive of Superintendent John Deasy have sent a second letter requesting a meeting with the LA Unified school board to discuss Deasy’s annual performance review. In a letter sent yesterday to board President Richard Vladovic, the groups chided him for being unresponsive to their concerns about the lack of transparency in the evaluation...

John Deasy is still the LA Unified superintendent. After four hours behind closed doors last night, the district school board emerged with nothing to say. For Deasy, who did not attend the meeting, that was a plus, because it meant that the members might have talked about his performance, but they didn’t take a vote...