Los Angeles Unified School District

Lunch Money Intended For Poor Students 'Misappropriated' By LAUSD, State Says

Stealing poor kids' lunch money has to be up there with greed, gluttony and ganging up on Frank Ocean on the list of top sins. But the California Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes says the L.A. school district did just that, to the tune of $158 million. According to a report from the office ... More >>

Education Providers Leap at Chance to Partake in First L.A. Unified Parent Trigger

At the failing 24th Street Elementary School in West Adams, the site of the first Parent Trigger in the Los Angeles Unified School District, an interesting competition appears to be brewing. If you remember, parents at 24th Street Elementary dropped a signature petition on L.A. Unified officials on ... More >>

Failing 24th Street Elementary Targeted for First Parent Trigger in Los Angeles Unified School District

Read "Los Angeles Unified School District Braces For First Parent Trigger Take Over." Parents of children who attend the failing 24th Street Elementary School in West Adams dropped a signature petition on Los Angeles Unified School District officials in downtown today, pulling the first Parent Trig ... More >>

5 Ways to Help Feed People This Holiday Season

There are so many worthy ways to give back this time of year. You can attend a fundraising event, donate food or write a check to help the less fortunate. All of which are needed and appreciated by the charities that depend on your generosity. But in case you need some inspiration, we came up with ... More >>

LAUSD Has Dug Up 500 Cases of Unreported Teacher Misconduct Since Miramonte Scandal

Back in February, after the world found out what Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt had allegedly been feeding his blindfolded third-graders (hint: his semen), the Los Angeles Unified School District erupted in scandalous accusations against other teachers. Pervy, unfit educators had a ... More >>

Food Forward: New PBS Food Show Airs Tonight

When you think of food shows, you're stuck between formulaic cooking contests, bacon-huffing Canadian bozos on YouTube, and the flecks of tartar sauce trapped in Guy Fieri's beard. There's not all that much else. But tonight a new food show debuts on PBS, and it promises (though this is not to say ... More >>

LAUSD Can Now Spy on Teachers' Online Activity, Punish Them for Facebook Comments

A new policy bulletin out of Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters tells teachers -- and any other adult associated with the district -- that they'd better keep their social-media persona in check. Actually, the new policy was put in place almost two months ago. But until the news wire m ... More >>

State Republican Leaders Get in Bed With ... Villaraigosa (!?) in Bid For Post-Miramonte Teacher Reform

Strange bedfellows have arisen from the Miramonte Elementary School sex abuse scandal in which two teachers face charges for lewd conduct and a slew of allegations have hit educators at other area campuses. L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who once vowed to take over the L.A. school district and wh ... More >>

Lousy School Lunches

Three People Overdose at Geezer Rave Known as The Playboy Jazz Festival at The Hollywood Bowl

Bill Cosby's sweaters are psychedelic.​When public officials debated the safety of raves last winter, advocates among them often compared them to rock concerts and events at the Hollywood Bowl. We had to work to hold down our laughter. After all, the Electric Daisy Carnival in June saw more t ... More >>

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's 2011 Budget: Nobody Fired, But 1000s of City Workers, Mainly LAPD, Must Choose Between Furloughs or Blows to Benefits

LAPD-City Hall relations are about to get a lot hairier​The city budget is here! The city budget is here! (Much like the Royal Wedding. Almost.) It's not the finalized budget for 2011-2012 -- many grueling meetings separate us from that glorious summer day -- but we have before us the mayor' ... More >>

L.A. Charter School Takeover: Teachers, Superintendant Cortines Defeated as Mayor, Reformers Get Their Way With 7 New Charters

Not this time, Cortines.​Private charter-school giants are pushing their way into the Los Angeles Unified School District one low-performing campus at a time -- or, as was the case yesterday, seven at a time, out of 13 district schools up for grabs. The Los Angeles Board of Education's reform ... More >>

El Camino Real High School in San Fernando Valley, Nationally Respected, Flees LAUSD to Become Charter School

Office-clinger Tamar Galatzan, behind Zuma Dogg, unsuccessfully humping to become a Los Angeles City Council member.​Update: The school was in the news recently for the Jeff Stenroos faked shooting. One of the top-rated schools in the Western U.S., El Camino Real High School -- so good that ... More >>

Brad Ratcliff -- L.A. High School Football Coach, Dean of Discipline -- Arrested for Possession of Child Porn

LAPDBrad Ratcliff, Dean of Discipline and alleged perv​When LAPD officers searched the home of West Adams Preparatory High School administrator Brad Ratcliff on February 2, they found something with which no man who hangs around underage boys all day should be caught dead: photos and videos of ... More >>

L.A. Teachers Union Loses Historic Lawsuit to ACLU: No More 'Last Hired, First Fired'

Better luck next time, Duffy​Updated after the jump: UTLA plans to appeal the ruling. Update: L.A. Mayor, Board of Education Prez and Superintendent-to-be join the victory lap. This one's for the kids. An L.A. Superior Court judge ruled just a few hours ago, in Reed v. State of California, ... More >>

L.A. School Lockdown Kit: Where's the Cheetos?

Kayla via Plixi​Bet you thought that piss bucket students used at El Camino High yesterday (pictured, click to enlarge) was totally DIY, right? Not even. Los Angeles Unified School District officials tell the LA Times this morning that classrooms on lockdown during both the La Gardena shootin ... More >>

L.A. School Police Officer Shot in Chest at El Camino High in Woodland Hills

The El Camino High shooter fired a semiautomatic handgun at an L.A. school police officer​Update: "LAPD Chief Says Jeffrey Stenroos, L.A. School Officer 'Shot in Chest' at El Camino High, Was Lying." Updated after the jump: Did the LAPD overreact to the sort-of-on-campus shooting? Plus, there ... More >>

LA Unified School District is suing the City of LA for toxic contamination of school site near Eagle Rock

The LA school district wants the city to stop contaminating its land​The Los Angeles Unified School District wants to build a new state-of-the-art school in northeast LA to help relieve overcrowding at Franklin, Eagle Rock and Marshall high schools. The school district already has the land all pi ... More >>

First Day Of School Moved To Middle Of Hot L.A. Summer; On-Campus Ads Given The Thumbs-Up

School in August? Hot!​The Los Angeles Unified School District board did more in one meeting last night than it's done in months. (Still, theirs couldn't compete with Compton's. Hot damn.) Board members passed two major changes to L.A. schools: 1) The academic year will now start on Aug. 15, ... More >>

Corporate Sponsors May Be Coming to LAUSD Campuses

Roaming Vegas/FlickrNot coming to a school near you--well, not into a school near you.​ The Los Angeles Unified School District is so poor it is entertaining the notion of accepting corporate sponsors on school campuses. There's no chance of the Malboro Man's visage being emblazoned on a socc ... More >>

A competent California is not high on uppers most of the time! PLUS: You can buy Dr. Phil's pants!

​ Each Monday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from basements, thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets around Los Angeles. Competency Achievement Packets: Vehicles and the Law and Interpersonal Family Relationships Date: 1982 Publishe ... More >>

Pop Quiz! In California, can women get driver's licenses? Can Democrats?

​ Back in '82, the Los Angeles Unified School District hit students with these very questions as part of their well-intentioned yet often goofy Competency-Based Education Program. This week's Studies in Crap post, over on our Style Council blog, takes us back to the days of Competence, when ... More >>

Eight South L.A. Middle School Students Get Ill After Eating Chocolate Possibly Laced With Marijuana

Marijuana candy seized in a drug bust (file photo).​Eight South L.A. Middle School students passed a chocolate bar around, and all eight fell ill, according to the city fire department and district officials. What was in it? A Los Angeles Unified School District spokeswoman said it possibly c ... More >>

Perez Hilton, Los Angeles Unified School District Join Hands In The Good Fight Against Gay Bullying

perezhilton.com​In an unlikely twist of solidarity, the Los Angeles Unified School District has arrived at a similar solution to a troubling spree of gay teen suicides as the true maestro of L.A. youth -- celebrity blogger Perez Hilton. For the good of the children, both have promised to play ... More >>

Expect Traffic: Half Million Pupils Headed To School Monday

​That easy-going traffic you enjoyed in August as half the world was on vacation? It's all coming to an end Monday as a half million children head to campus for the first day of school. So you might want to give your commute some extra time. "Fall" classrooms actually opened later than usual ... More >>

Teachers To Protest Outside L.A. Times Building; Union Fumes Over Newspaper's Educator Report Cards

​After urging members to boycott the Los Angeles Times, the union representing L.A. public school teachers has scheduled a demonstration outside the doorstep of the newspaper Sept. 14. Details for the event protesting the Times' "inaccurate and irresponsible journalism" have yet to be release ... More >>

Guardian Of Middle School Student Anwar Stetson Sues L.A. District After He Lost Two Fingers In Shop Class

​The guardian of a 13-year-old middle school student who lost two fingers in shop class in 2008 is suing the Los Angeles Unified School District for negligence after a the plaintiff rejected a settlement offer, according to his attorneys. The incident at Paul Revere Middle School in Brentwood ... More >>

L.A. School District Rescinds Plan To Charge Athletes for Tranportation

​L.A. public schools superintendent Ramon Cortines this week overturned a controversial district decision that would have charged parents of athletes $24 a year for game-day transportation. "I was livid this morning. ... I was not aware of this," Cortines told the Daily Breeze on Thursday.

Los Angeles School District Loses $10 Million Because Of Flawed Textbook Inventory System

​A recent audit of 21 public high schools in the region shows that stolen textbooks and unnecessary book purchases have cost the Los Angeles Unified School District nearly $10 million. The online report criticized the already cash-strapped school district for not "effectively, efficiently, ... More >>

Los Angeles School District To Help Out Hungry Children Over The Summer

​Many summer programs have been eliminated by Los Angeles school district officials in response to the poor economy and cuts to education spending, reducing the times and places that needy students can receive free food, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Very few policy makers consider the ... More >>

Valley Charter School Operators Accused Of Swindling Public Money

​Operators of four West Valley charter schools were charged this week with crimes related to allegedly embezzling and misappropriating public money -- what prosecutors said was a commingling of their private and public school funding. The District Attorney's office contends that Yevgeny Seliva ... More >>

Voters Say No To Paying More Taxes For L.A. Public Schools

​County voters shot down a proposed tax that could have raised roughly $92.5 million for the struggling Los Angeles Unified School District. According to the Daily News, ballot Measure E would have added $100 per parcel to property owners' tax bills, saving the jobs of hundreds of teachers, ad ... More >>

Layoffs Blocked At Trio Of L.A. Schools

​A day after Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa decried layoffs at a trio of struggling area public schools as discriminatory, a judge blocked the teacher cuts at the campuses, siding with an ACLU lawsuit's claims. The Wednesday ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Highberg ... More >>

New And Underperforming L.A. Schools To Be Run By Outside Groups

File photo.​Protesters gathered outside Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters Tuesday afternoon as its board of directors pondered recommendations to allow 10 outside operators to take over several new campuses and underperforming schools. United Teachers Los Angeles, the union rep ... More >>

LAUSD Grants Control Of Several Campuses To Outside Groups

LAUSDFile photo.​Despite a demonstration by members of the teacher's union, the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District Tuesday voted to roughly follow the recommendations of their superintendent and give some outside groups control of several campuses. A few exceptions were switched ... More >>

Teacher Says He's The Latest To Get Paid To Stay Home

Photo illustration by Sean Teagarden​A teacher who posts regularly about his experience at the Los Angeles Unified School District on the blog perdaily wrote recently that he's one of the latest at the education system to be told he could stay home and still collect his paycheck as officials t ... More >>

School Complex At Ambassador Site To Be Named For RFK

The Ambassador Hotel.​The $400-million schools complex at the site of the defunct Ambassador Hotel where Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 will be named in his honor. The Los Angeles Unified School District made no promises about the naming, but it was long expected. The honor s ... More >>

Beverly Hills Schools Take From The Rich And Give To The Poor No More

Beverly HIlls High School​After a contentious year debating the matter, the Beverly Hills school board seems poised to cut about 10 percent of its student population -- outsiders on a permit program that would be phased out. To say that it has taken from the rich and given to the poor is somew ... More >>

Teachers' Union Sues Over Charter School

​United Teachers Los Angeles filed suit against the Los Angeles Unified School District over its establishment of a charter campus that would relieve overcrowding at the Eastside's storied Garfield High School. What's wrong with charter schools, you ask? This could be about jobs. The UTLA arg ... More >>

Teachers Demonstrate As L.A. District Considers Dropping 1,400 Of Them

UTLA​Teachers were demonstrating outside Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters downtown Tuesday as its board was expected to vote on a budget that could layoff as many 5,000 employees, including 1,400 teachers, over two years. Despite a schools building boom -- much of that money c ... More >>

Expanding L.A. School District Shuts The Door On New Hires

​Even as the Los Angeles Unified School District is in the midst of a historic building boom that includes the massive and still-rising campus at the site of the Ambassador Hotel in Koreatown, Superintendent Ramon Cortines announced Monday that school hiring is being put in a deep freeze. He ... More >>

LAUSD Meets to Finalize Layoffs -- Unions Will Protest

All the drama about Los Angeles Unified School District's cutting of nearly 8,600 jobs seemed to peak last week, when school superintendent Ray Cortines made his final recommendation for the cuts. Today, however, is the moment when LAUSD will actually vote to approve the layoffs, which inc ... More >>

L.A. School Board OK's 8,846 Pink Slips

Faced with a rapidly deteriorating financial outlook (a $718 million budget shortfall), the Los Angeles Unified School District voted this afternoon to authorize up to 8,846 employee layoffs by the end of June. (About 2,000 teachers have already agreed to take early retirement.) While today's decisi ... More >>

L.A. School Report Cards: Zero for Improvement

Howard Blume reports in today's L.A. Times that the Los Angeles Unified School District has begun mailing one-page report cards to parents on the performances of district schools. Those issued for L.A. high schools provide a ruder awakening than any home-room bell. Blume notes that while previous as ... More >>

LAUSD's Brew-Ha-Ha-er

Why Is This Man Laughing?Soon to be comfortably retired,  L.A. school superintendent David Brewer appears in a jovial mood here. And who wouldn't be -- the former admiral is collecting a cool half million dollars New Year's Eve from the city-funded ATM known as the Los Angeles Unified School Di ... More >>

Election '08: The Pros and Cons of California's Ballot Measures

By Daniel Heimpel, Max Taves and Jill Stewart Statewide Measures Proposition 1A $10 billion bond. High Speed Passenger Train Bond Act. Total price tag with interest: About $19 million. Proposition 1 would give the state the right to sell $10 billion in bonds to build an 800-mile high-speed tr ... More >>

Art School or LAUSD Folly?

A gorgeous downtown high school has no plan, no curriculum — but sure looks fab

Bonded in L.A.

The lone “yes” vote on a night of no, no, no

Old School

What to do when history keeps repeating

Sucker Among the Sharks

The Mullinax Report chronicles incompetence in high places. And retells an old story.