A pro-charter, pro-accountability group called Democrats for Education Reform has issued a report card on District 2 incumbent Monica Garcia and District 4 incumbent Steve Zimmer, based on “parent choice and quality schools; school district transparency; district leadership; and teacher effectiveness and quality.” Meantime, Zimmer has followed UTLA’s lead and issued a response to the news that...

LA Unified School Board Race Could Break Fundraising Records This Election The 2013 school board races have barely started and they have already attracted more than $4 million in donations. KPCC See also: LA School Report Union Wins Right to Represent Valley Charter School The Los Angeles teachers union announced Wednesday night that it has won...

LA School Report has learned a little of the backstory behind a recent election-focused post that was published on former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch’s blog. As you may know, Ravitch urged her readers to support District 4 (Hollywood and Westside) incumbent Steve Zimmer and oppose his challenger Kate Anderson, based in large part on an email from a Zimmer supporter...

LAUSD School Board to Consider Laying Off Nearly 200 The Los Angeles Unified School Board will take up whether to lay off 194 staff in the 2013-14 school year. KPCC See also: FOX LA, KTLA, LA School Report L.A. Unified Aviation Training Center Gets $100,000 Donation The mechanics vocational school had been facing closure or...

The Coalition for School Reform has unveiled a somewhat curious new 30-second TV ad for District 4 School Board challenger Kate Anderson. Titled “Talking Benches,” most of it is devoted to blasting incumbent Steve Zimmer.  “Zimmer voted to fire 5,000 teachers,” says an incredulous narrator, “and cut basics like art and PE, while supporting the costliest building project in America...

After a slow start, the District 4 (Hollywood and Westside) race between School Board Member Steve Zimmer and challenger Kate Anderson is heating up. On Tuesday, Anderson unveiled her first campaign ad on YouTube. Zimmer’s campaign manager, Ari Ruiz, said his campaign team also plans to launch ads supporting Zimmer on YouTube this Saturday. Zimmer...

LA School Report has learned that the teachers union’s political arm, UTLA-PACE, has sent a direct mail piece on behalf of a Westside District 4 candidate, Steve Zimmer, in what appears to be its first election expenditure. The mailer is notable because UTLA-PACE is expected to spend big on behalf of UTLA-backed school board candidates, but...

Outside Spending Pours Into L.A. School Board Race 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 Teachers’ Ratings Still High Despite New Measures High teacher rating results, among the first trickling out from states’ newly...

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten (pictured) is visiting Woodland Hills Elementary School this morning, along with School Board member Steve Zimmer. As we reported yesterday, Weingarten is in town to announce a $150,000 grant to United Teachers of Los Angeles for improved school improvement plans. While UTLA and AFT are trying to prevent...

American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten is scheduled to hold a Friday, February 8 press conference at Woodland Hills Academy to announce a $150,000 grant to the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). The grant is aimed at helping teachers create strong school improvement plans and prevent the need for any additional “parent trigger” actions...