United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the second largest teachers union in the country, has reached a tentative agreement with LA Unified, according to an announcement issued by UTLA late last night. The new contract would includes a 10 percent raise over two years, likely bringing to an end the threat of a strike that has...

Sometimes, it seems, the hits never stop coming for LA Unified. The latest blow comes from the financial website Nerdwallet and its article, “Best School Districts for Your Buck in California.” The story ranked all the state’s districts based on the criteria of affordability to live there, standardized test scores, college readiness and class size. So...

The LA Unified school board yesterday approved a health care package of benefits for its unions that will increase the district’s contributions to the plan to $1.23 billion over the next three years. without requiring an analysis of the long-term effects of additional costs, including the possibility of bankruptcy. Board member Monica Ratliff tried to...

* UPDATED Could a deal between LA Unified and its teachers union, UTLA, be close at hand? The answer is a definite maybe, judging by the accelerated schedule of meetings with the mediator trying to bring the sides together. Two more sessions are scheduled — today and tomorrow.  If that’s a sign of progress leading...

* UPDATED The LA teachers union, UTLA, has filed a complaint with the Public Employment Relations Board, accusing Alliance College-Ready Public Schools of interfering with the union’s right to organize teachers in the 26 Alliance schools. The complaint was filed last night, UTLA said in a press release that outlined a series of steps that the...

*UPDATED A second round of protests is scheduled at LA Unified schools today as the district and its teachers union, UTLA, continue to lock horns over teacher pay raises, among other issues. “We had full participation at several hundred schools for the first one, and we expect the same today,” UTLA spokeswoman Suzanne Spurgeon told...

* UPDATED LA Unified met today’s deadline and filed an application for a No Child Left Behind waiver without one of the key requirements of the U.S. Department of Education — an agreement with the teachers union on a three-level teacher evaluation system. If approved, the California Office to Reform Education (CORE) Waiver would clear...

Despite claims by Superintendent Ramon Cortines that LA Unified could lose $171 million in federal funding without an agreement with the teachers union on a teacher evaluation system, state officials say the money may not be at risk, at all. For weeks, Cortines has urged UTLA to accept a proposal with a three-level overall teacher...

A mediator from the state’s labor board met for the first time yesterday with negotiators from LA Unified and the teachers union, UTLA, to move contract negotiations forward. But the result was a gulf between the sides that remains wide as ever. How wide? “At this time, the union’s economic demands remain $774 million dollars...

The LA teachers union, UTLA, has decided to endorse LA Unified school board President Richard Vladovic in his reelection bid for the District 7 board seat. While it’s his third run for the seat, it’s the first time the teachers are throwing support his way, making him that rare candidate who has won the endorsements...