Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday decried layoffs at the Los Angeles Unified School District because, he argued, they often end up leaving the most vulnerable schools with the newer, less-experienced teachers.

At a press conference scheduled Tuesday afternoon the mayor was expected to “call on the courts, state legislature and the Los Angeles school community to change the teacher layoff system and start putting students first,” according to a statement from his office.

Villaraigosa expressed support for an ACLU lawsuit that claims teacher layoffs at LAUSD schools have disproportionately affected those most in-need of good instruction.

“These middle schools have been hit hard by teacher layoffs that have resulted in having teachers who are not trained to teach in the areas in which they are assigned; decimated the schools' ability to train and mentor teachers because of high turnover; and reduced the quality of education because of the high number of substitute teachers and lack of

stability in the classroom,” reads part of a statement from the mayor's office.

Of course, the teacher's union, United Teachers Los Angeles, is in a bitter battle with the district over layoffs set-off by a major budget deficit at the LAUSD. And, of course, Villaraigosa is a union man through-and-through.

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