Results tagged “boardofeducation”

The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted 6-1 yesterday to approve a controversial plan put forth by Board VP Yolie Flores Aguilar called the "School Choice" plan which will allow private organizations and companies to submit bids for operational control of several schools in the district, including as-yet unopened campuses as well as troubled schools.

Many teachers, union leaders, students, and parents are crying foul as the LAUSD Board of Education is slated to vote tomorrow on the controversial School Choice proposal, which will allow non-profits, companies, and other interested parties to apply for control of troubled schools in the troubled district. The plan was authored and spearheaded by Board VP Yolie Flores Aguilar, and is being touted as a vital component of "reform" by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

If it's broke, fix it, right? Only what happens when the people who are supposed to fix it are the ones who broke it in the first place? And they happened to have run out of the money it's going to likely take to do the fixing? Easy solution: Sell management of the school(s) to the highest--well, "superior"--bidder.

Following several days of protests by teachers, and their students, against the Los Angeles Unified School District and their recent decision to layoff hundreds of teachers, increase class sizes, and eliminate funding for several programs, the civil disobedience continues in the form of a hunger strike.

Following yesterday's walkouts at Santee High School, where hundreds of students marched from their campus to the Downtown headquarters of the Los Angeles Unified District, Board President Monica Garcia has issued a statement. Her emphasis, however, is focused neither on the Board changing their minds about layoffs and budgetary decisions, nor on punishing the students, but rather on using their education as their best mode of protest. Says Garcia:

“I encourage our students to continue informing themselves and speaking out on cuts in California that affect their futures more than anyone else’s.

Continue reading "LAUSD Board President Garcia Responds to Student Walkouts"

In a closed-session meeting yesterday, the LAUSD Board of Education voted unanimously to file suit against the teachers' union, UTLA, charging that their planned May 15th "work stoppage" is "unfair labor practice," reports abc7.

It was as close to a split as a panel of 7 can get: In a 4-3 vote, the LAUSD Board of Education voted late yesterday afternoon to approve layoffs that will affect thousands of teachers and other district staff.

Following a morning meeting held between Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Board of Education members Monica Garcia and Yolie Flores-Aguilar, and parents and teachers, the LAUSD has just announced they will "drop a proposal to lay off as many as 1,900 permanent teachers," LA Now reports. The move spares permanent teachers at elementary schools, who will still have to deal with increased class sizes and other shortfalls in support and services. Although the news is encouraging for some, teachers at middle and high schools in the district still face layoffs, as do thousands of other employees. The issue of the budget cuts and layoffs will be on the agenda for tomorrow's regularly scheduled Board meeting, but following today's meeting and announcement, "Supt. Ramon C. Cortines and school board president Monica Garcia insisted that they will continue to work to minimize the number of layoffs, even if the board approves them as a precaution."

With one day left before the LAUSD Board is due to vote on the postponed motion for thousands of layoffs district-wide at their regularly scheduled meeting, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is expected to meet later this morning with teachers and parents to talk about ways to avoid the ax falling so mightily.

Under pressure from United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing educators working in the LAUSD, the Board of Education agreed on Tuesday during their regular meeting to postpone voting on proposed layoffs. The Board, in a gesture meant to show alignment with Superintendent Ramon Cortines, decided to pursue meetings and discussions of alternatives with bargaining units, and will bring the motion to the table once more on April 14th.

The Los Angeles Unified School District reached a tentative agreement yesterday with the union representing its teachers which gives them a new contract that will last until 2011, according to abc7.com.