A new poll shows that California voters would support reauthorization of Proposition 30, a 2012 measure that raised taxes to support public education.

The survey by PACE/USC Rossier School of Education Poll shows 63 percent of voters favor extending at least one provision of Prop. 30 — the tax increase on high incomes or the sales tax hike or both. Only 28 percent of voters said both fiscal provisions should be allowed to expire, the poll showed.

Prop. 30 temporarily increased the state sales tax by a quarter cent and the personal income tax rate on people earning more than $250,000 a year to fund public education and other government programs. It expires at the end of 2016.

“Since the inception of this poll in 2012, we have identified valuable trends that not only reflect the opinions of the state’s voters but also influence policymakers in Sacramento,” said USC Rossier School Dean Karen Symms Gallagher. “The latest results indicate a growing confidence in our public school system as voters are clearly willing to provide greater financial support to education.”

Six in 10 voters said California should be spending more on schools, as opposed to 26 percent who said the state’s public schools have enough money, the poll showed.

Voters were less enthusiastic about proposed changes to Proposition 13, which sets limits on property taxes. Changing the rules on the taxation of business and commercial property would raise an estimated $6 billion to $10 billion per year, of which 40 percent would go to public schools. A slight majority of voters – 51 percent – said they would support changes to Prop. 13, as compared with 39 percent who would oppose it.

California voters have become less pessimistic about the state of their public schools. Between 2012, when the question was first asked, and now, the percentage of voters who say the state’s public schools have gotten better more than doubled, to 17 percent from 7 percent. During that same time period, the percentage of voters who said public schools were getting worse declined, to 39 percent from 57 percent.

Thirty-six percent of voters said public schools had stayed the same.

Among the poll’s other findings:

• Only 17 percent of California voters said their neighborhood public schools had gotten better, but that was up from 11 percent in 2012. Thirty-four percent of voters said their local public schools had gotten worse, down from 45 percent in 2012.
• Sixty-five percent of California voters said they have never heard or read about the Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2013 reform under which billions of dollars have been funneled to school districts to directly help English learners, foster children and students from low-income families. An additional 21 percent said they had not heard or read much about it, the poll showed.
• A plurality of voters said they approved of the job Gov. Brown is doing on education, with 45 percent who approve as compared with 38 percent who disapprove — the highest approval rating since the PACE/USC Rossier Poll first asked this question in 2013.
• Forty-six percent of voters said they approve of the job President Obama was doing on U.S. education issues, as compared with 41 percent who disapprove.
• Voters continue to give the state’s public schools average grades, although fewer voters believe schools are failing. The largest percentage of Californians (43 percent) gave their state’s schools a grade of “C.” And 32 percent of voters graded them a “D” or “F,” down from 42 percent in 2012. 

The PACE/USC Rossier School of Education Poll was conducted August 3-22, 2015 by polling firms MFour Mobile Research and Tulchin Research and surveyed 2,411 registered California voters. The poll was conducted online and allowed respondents to complete the survey on a desktop or laptop computer, tablet or smartphone. The poll was conducted in English and Spanish. The margin of error for the overall sample was +/- 2.9 percentage points.

In all, 34 states are spending less on K-12 education than before the recession hit, including 13 that have cut per-student spending by more than 10 percent.

Apart from requiring school districts to roll back education services and look elsewhere for funding, the state spending cuts deepened the recession and slowed the pace of economic recovery by reducing the overall number of teachers and other employees, the study said. Further, it said, through last month local school districts had cut a total of 324,000 jobs since 2008, which in turn reduced family purchasing power and overall spending.

The inability of states to undertake critical school reform initiatives, like recruiting better teachers and trimming class sizes, was also cited as having long-term negative consequences for the nation’s economic competitiveness.

Though schools in California have experienced significant improvements in their finances in the past two years due to the passage of Proposition 30 in 2012, many other states continue to be plagued by cuts to their K-12 education funding. In 15 states, per-student funding is lower in the current fiscal year than it was just a year ago, the study said.

Previous Posts: Deasy & Zimmer Praise Prop. 30 Passage, Mixed Reactions to Board-Passed Hiring Proposal, UTLA, LAUSD Prep for Prop. 30 Budget Battle 

So expect school districts to go on a spending binge this summer—Los Angeles Unified School District aims to equip all of its 650,000 students with tablet computers—and then unions in the fall to protest draconian budget cuts and layoffs.

– Allysia Finley in the Wall Street Journal (California’s Shrinking Surplus)

Previous posts: Union Focusing on Jobs; Teachers Vote Against Deasy, For More Teachers; UTLA, LAUSD Prep for Prop. 30 Budget Battle

As a recent UTLA newletter reveals, concerns about how the money will be spent are one of the reasons that the union is so focused on the outcome of the March 5 election. In the newsletter, UTLA President Warren Fletcher notes that the union’s ability to achieve its budget goals “will be immeasurably helped or hindered depending on the outcome of the March 5 School Board election.”

When it passed in November, Prop. 30 was lauded by just about everyone as a victory for education. For the first time in years, Prop. 30 offered financial relief for LAUSD’s cash-strapped schools, which have weathered a budget crisis, teacher layoffs, and dismally low per-pupil funding. In 2012, LAUSD’s per-pupil funding was $5,221, and California’s per-pupil spending ranked 47th out of 50 states.

And, at least initially, UTLA and the Board were in agreement. Once Prop. 30 passed, the Board immediately moved to restore the full, 180-day academic year and rescinded past teacher furloughs.

But the promise of this much-needed money now has LAUSD and UTLA preparing for a battle over how it will be spent, a process that begins now and happens for real next year.

The teachers union has proclaimed three main spending priorities for Prop. 30 revenue: It wants to protect and restore teacher jobs, to lower class sizes (which will also protect teacher jobs threatened by declining student enrollment in district schools), and to implement pay raises.

In the newsletter, Fletcher highlights the differences between what the union wants and what the district prioritizes. “[In the past,] Board members could always claim that budgetary necessity was driving their decisions,” writes Fletcher. “Now that Prop. 30 is the law, they no longer have that excuse.”

LAUSD teachers have experienced four years of furloughs, and there has been a six-year freeze on pay raises in the district.

However, the district, along with at least a part of the Board, is looking to spend Prop. 30 funds more directly on students, including by bringing more technology into classrooms.

The rift between UTLA and LAUSD on technology is nothing new (see: Union Head Opposes Tablet Initiative), and there have already been tense debates among Board members over Deasy’s push to give each LAUSD student a tablet computer (see: Technology or Salaries?). In a January interview with CBS LA, Deasy said preventing teacher layoffs was a possibility next year, but far from a certainty.

However, few of these decisions will be made before the Board election on March 5th. It will be a new Board — possibly with new members — that sifts through the different claims and priorities and determines how Prop. 30 funds are used.

Deasy’s chart showing the effects of Prop 30’s passage

Inside the meeting room at Tuesday’s LAUSD school board meeting, four television camera crews were present to watch the board vote unanimously to rescind 10 furlough days (five of which are instructional), thanks to the passage of Proposition 30. The board also voted to adopt a “Good Food Purchasing Policy.”

But the healthy food vote and the restoration of days were only a small part of the Board meeting, which went on for several hours and was dominated by matters related to charter schools.

Outside the meeting, there were so many charter activists (over a thousand, according to the California Charter Schools Association’s Sierra Jenkins) that they had to shut down the entire block. As one observer pointed out, the charter demonstration was the kind of stunt that the teachers union used to be the only ones to pull off.

The extra days will be added to the end of the 2012-2013 school year, marking the first time since 2007-2008 that LAUSD will have a full, 180-day class schedule.

The fiscal news wasn’t all good, however.  Superintendent John Deasy warned that other dangers lie ahead — a possible Federal funding cut that would take $65 million from LAUSD next year alone, and a massive structural deficit of between $400 million and $500 million in the 2013-2014 year due to “declining enrollment, inflation and increased health and welfare costs.”

The Board also had to deal with the increasingly tight quarters at Echo Park’s Logan Street Elementary School, which has been sharing space with Gabriella Charter School for the past five years in accordance with Proposition 39 (See: More School Space, More Problems). Now, Gabriella’s charter was up for renewal. Dozens of parents, students and teachers showed up to praise Gabriella; dozens of parents, students and teachers from Logan showed up to talk about how Logan needed its campus back.

“This is like the Republicans and the Democrats,” quipped school board member Dr. Richard Vladovic, who voted with the majority to approve Gabriella’s charter. Deasy said that his staff would begin to look for a new location for Gabriella.

Last but not least was the vote on Board member Zimmer’s motion to put in place more oversight and strategic thinking around the  growth of charters schools (See: Zimmer Unveils Softer Charter Plan). The Zimmer proposal was the reason all the charter school supporters were there, and why charter advocates had been running a radio ad critical of Zimmer’s proposal (see: Charter Ad Blasts Zimmer).

By the time the motion finally came up, it was 5 PM, and most of the charter activists had left. Zimmer defended his resolution. “This is not about closing a single charter school,” he said, or “limiting a single parent’s choice.” He pointed out that the dispute between Logan and Gabriella was the perfect argument for the district controlling the growth of charter schools more deliberately.

Any suspense over whether or not the motion would pass was put to rest quickly by Dr. Vladovic, who expresses skepticism about adding “another layer of bureaucracy.”

Vladovic asked Deasy what he thought about the Zimmer proposal.

Deasy replied bluntly, “I don’t think this resolution is necessary.”

“Necessary or not,” said Zimmer, “is there anything here that you would be opposed to looking at?”

“I don’t think we should be asking for voluntary delays,” said Deasy.

Nury Martinez and Tamar Galatzan pointed out that the problem was Proposition 39, which forces the district to co-locate certain schools. Throughout the meeting, there had been a number of references to problems caused by Prop 39, over which the district and the charter schools are currently in a court battle. (Later in the day, the Board would approve a resolution by Board member Kayser to charge charter schools money for over-allocation of space. The fines will start next year.)

Surprisingly, the discussion over Zimmer’s resolution didn’t last long. “We continue to have this debate – I feel like we’re leading people on,” said Martinez. “Lets just be done with this, Mr. Zimmer.”

“I appreciate the indulgence of my colleagues,” said Zimmer, as the debate wound down. “This was an attempt to look at this in a complex way, and I’ll continue to make those attempts.”

The motion was voted down, 2-4, with Bennett Kayser joining Zimmer.  Marguerite LaMotte was out of the room when the vote was taken.  (For more, see the Daily News). It was a somewhat anticlimactic end to a long saga.

Mainstream coverage: ABC 7, the LA Times, the Daily News, and KPCC, as well as the LAUSD press release.

Previous posts: School Board Round-Up, Zimmer Postpones His Teacher Evaluation Proposal

Brown to Schools: Expect Fiscal Reform, Weighted Funding in Next Year’s Budget
The Brown administration convened an invitation-only meeting late last week for representatives of the state’s public schools to clearly communicate the governor’s intent to bring back his weighted student funding formula in next year’s budget. SI&A Cabinet Report 

Ed Source has more

Bloom’s Lead Over Betsy Butler Shrinks In Latest Vote Count
In the hotly contested California Assembly District 50 race, which still yet to be called, Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom’s lead over Assemblywoman Betsy Butler has shrunk. LA Weekly

Music Teacher Linda Mouradian Honored as a ‘Beacon of Light’
Mouradian is one of 93 elementary arts instructors who teach at several LAUSD campuses each week, providing lessons in voice or instrumental music. Daily News 

Deasy’s just-announced proposal is motivated by the November 6 passage of Prop. 30, whose approval means that LAUSD doesn’t have to cut $255 million from this year’s budget and, according to Deasy, can afford going back to 180 days of school. See the full press release here.

Local Votes of Confidence: Most Bonds, Parcel Taxes Pass
Proposition 30, raising statewide taxes to support education, was a nail biter, struggling to get a majority of voters behind it. But that wasn’t the case for most K-12 parcel taxes and school construction bonds on the ballot Tuesday. Ed Source

The Prop 30 Windfall – Not Yet
In its first year, more than $2 billion of Prop 30 funds will be used to start paying off the nearly $10 billion in deferrals, those late payments that forced cash-strapped district to borrow money.  Those payments should free up funds so in 2013-14, districts will start to see some real money. Ed Source

LAUSD Teacher Named One of Five California Teachers of the Year
Veronica Marquez, a fifth-grade teacher at Harmony Elementary School in South Los Angeles, was named today as one of five California Teachers of the Year by state schools Superintendent Tom Torlakson. Daily News

Where Did the Lottery Money Go?
The truth is that education budgets have shrunk so much that the lottery money just goes into the pot to help pay for what is needed—as permitted by law. But that was never its purpose. Galatzan Gazette 

Formal Recommendations on Revising Statewide Testing Due Out This Month
Setting the stage for perhaps the most critical public school issue that will come before the Legislature next year, the state board of education held its first public hearing Thursday on plans for shaping the future of student standardized testing in California. SI&A Cabinet Report

L.A. Teachers Union Calls for Restoring Full School Year
“We recognize that Proposition 30 will not fix all our schools’ fiscal problems, but it is a tremendous step that is expected to cancel teacher furlough days and bring back the 180-day school year,” said Warren Fletcher, president of United Teachers Los Angeles on Wednesday. LA Times

Ed Advocates Foresee New Era With Supermajority
Many education advocates were giddy when they awoke Wednesday. Not only had Proposition 30 passed, with its promise of nearly $7 billion in new funding for schools and community colleges, but in an unexpected outcome, Democrats won supermajorities, two-thirds of the seats in both the State Assembly and Senate. Ed Source

Young Voters, Democrats, Latinos and L.A. County Pushed Prop. 30 to Victory
On Wednesday, political experts said turnout was key to the success of Prop. 30, with Democrats, Latinos and young people who turned out to re-elect President Barack Obama also voting to increase the state’s sales tax and the income tax on the wealthy. Daily News

Passage of Prop. 30 Hailed by Educators
For public school districts, the measure’s success was mostly about escaping another wave of severe budget cuts, including teacher layoffs, curtailed instructional time and larger classes. But for higher education, the measure is expected to reap immediate positive benefits. LA Times

Prop 30 Passed – So Now Where’s the Money?
For K-12 schools, not much may change in the short term because most districts assembled their budgets assuming that Prop 30 would pass. KPCC

SBE Approves Common Core Materials, New English Learners Standards
The California State Board of Education on Wednesday adopted a much anticipated set of new standards in reading and language arts for English learners, and approved a list of supplemental instructional materials aligned to common core standards in English and mathematics. SI&A Cabinet Report

To Make Blended Learning Work, Teachers Try Different Tactics
For many schools, finding a way to integrate the use of technology in a traditional setting — teacher-centered classrooms — is proving to be a challenge.  KQED / Mindshift

Superintendent John Deasy

“These funds will better equip us to provide a quality education to all LAUSD youth over the next several years and begin the road back to fiscal recovery. We look forward in the next several years to begin to restore some of the programs and valued employees, which were previously cut by the devastating fiscal situation in California.” (Read the whole statement here.)

Board member Steve Zimmer also sent a statement out: “There is hope on the horizon in Los Angeles this morning… Yesterday, voters convincingly told us they value public education.” (Read the whole statement here.)

The tax measure looked like it was headed for narrow defeat until votes from LA County finally began to be counted. In the end, LA County voters approved of Prop 30 by 20 percentage points, according to the Secretary of State’s website.

Gov. Jerry Brown Crisscrosses California in Final Prop. 30 Push
To shore up support for Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown goes on a 5-city swing to tout his proposal to raise taxes and head off deep cuts to public education. LA Times

Californians Started the Tax Revolt 34 Years Ago. Will They End It Today?
Today, at the behest of the same governor who came to personify the start of the tax revolt in America, Californians will decide whether they’ve had enough. After watching school funding and basic service funding atrophy for over a decade, is it finally time to call off the tax revolt? In a few hours, we’ll find out. Mother Jones

Whatever Happens to California’s Proposition 30, the Tax Revolt is Alive and Well, writes Slate’s Matthew Yglesias

Dan Walters: Campaign Disclosure Shouldn’t Be This Complicated
The dustup over the money reached a climax of sorts Monday when the Arizona organization that sent the money into California seemingly backed down and said that it came from two other nonprofit organizations that may not have to reveal their contributors under any circumstances. Sac Bee

SBE’s Packed Agenda Includes Testing Revision, Common Core Textbook Release
Critical steps are expected to be taken this week by the California State Board of Education in revising statewide testing, providing new textbooks aligned to the common core and updating curriculum standards in English language development. SI&A Cabinet Report

Ed Source has more on the Common Core vote

Campaign Spending to Promote Props. 30 and 38 Exceeds $100 million
Proponents of Propositions 30 and 38 have now poured a combined total of $117 million to convince voters to support their respective measures, both of which are intended to raise billions of dollars for schools and other programs. Ed Source 

Prop. 30: OC Schools Struggle Amid Anti-Tax Fervor
The district’s students have already lost a week of instruction this year and stand to lose two more weeks if Prop. 30 does not pass. But Capo Unified admnistrators don’t talk about that. KPCC

State Supreme Court Wants Arizona Donors Audited
The high court orders a group that donated $11 million to a fund fighting Prop. 30 and supporting Prop. 32 to hand over records. The group is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. LA Times

Is There a Plan B For the State Budget if California’s Proposition 30 Fails?
Education leaders have privately discussed fallback efforts to spare schools from some of the worst consequences, especially after the initiative fell below 50 percent in recent polls. Sac Bee

Fresno Teachers Union Lets District Apply For Federal Grant
After a marathon debate, the Fresno teachers union agreed to endorse its school district’s application for a federal grant that would require controversial changes in instructor evaluations. LA Times

Ed Source has more

LAUSD Parent Centers Aim to Boost Involvement at Schools
Los Angeles Unified School District’s parent centers offer free classes that focus on parents’ needs, from helping their children with their homework to learning English. LA Times

LAUSD and Mental Health Partners Get Grant For Trauma Work
The $2.4-million grant will aid the school district’s work with students struggling after exposure to traumatic events. The district partners with UCLA, USC and the Rand Corp. LA Times

Interest in Master Teacher Credential For California Won’t Go Away
After years of debate and discussion, supporters of a new master teacher credential in California find themselves largely back at square one following a veto this fall of a bill promoting the concept. SI&A Cabinet Report

A Better Way to Grade Teachers
Effective evaluation requires rigorous, ongoing assessment by experts who review teachers’ instruction, looking at classroom practice and evidence of student learning. LA Times (opinion)

L.A. Unified Competes For U.S. Funds Without Key Element
A handful of California school districts have overcome hesitation or distrust from teacher unions to agree on applying for a high-profile, controversial federal grant. Los Angeles Unified, however, has opted to compete for the award without union endorsement, which it could not obtain. LA Times

Prop. 30 Fact Check
KPCC’s Tami Abdollah is fact checking the different arguments against proposition 30.  KPCC

Student-Centered Teacher Evaluations Focus on Learning Goals
Though the teacher evaluation bill, AB 5, collapsed again in August, there is wide agreement on the state’s responsibility to ensure that every student has an effective teacher.  Ed Source

California Ballot Holds Credit Risk for School Districts
If voters in California next week reject ballot measures to raise taxes, school districts in the Golden State will be among the first victims of spending cuts – a major concern not only for teachers and parents but also bondholders. Reuters

Superintendent John Deasy

In a piece today in the Daily News, Barbara Jones writes that if Proposition 30 doesn’t pass, LAUSD says it would shorten the 2012-2013 school year by as many as 15 days, and the following school year by as many as 15 additional days.

But on Monday, Superintendent John Deasy told LA School Report that other cuts would be needed as well should Jerry Brown’s tax proposal be rejected by voters on Tuesday.

“School days are part of it, but that alone won’t do it,” he said.

In addition to shortening the year, school districts in financial straits sometimes shorten the school day, eliminate programs and positions considered non-essential, and negotiate pay and benefit reductions with employees.

Deasy declined to give specifics, saying only that he would present options to the school board at its already scheduled November 13 meeting.

“There will be a series of proposals the board will have to act on,” he said.

Poll Shows Brown’s Prop 30 Down, Not Out
Another new poll confirms the recent downward slide for Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax increase initiative, but also suggests there’s a very real chance that Brown and his allies will eke out a victory on Election Day. News10

Prop 30’s Passage in California Could Depend on College Student Turnout
While 60 percent of young voters aged 18 to 29 supported a marijuana legalization proposition on California’s ballot in 2010, only 20 percent of them showed up at the polls and it was defeated.  HuffPo 

Beyond Props 30 & 38: Education Ballot Measures You Need to Know About Before Voting
In Los Angeles County, 15 bond measures seek to benefit local schools. Districts are asking voters’ approval to borrow from $18 million to $385 million to repair leaky roofs, make seismic retrofits, modernize science labs, and construct new buildings. KPCC

Teachers Asking School Districts to Maintain Benefits by Tapping Into Reserves
That reserve fund and how to use it has the administration and teachers union at Hacienda La Puente Unified butting heads. In contract talks the district has proposed teachers start paying monthly health care premiums. KPCC

Teachers Make Extra Money Selling Educational Materials Online
Sites such as teacherspayteachers.com provide an alternative to more traditional school supply stores. Associated Press

Dan Walters: What to Do if Proposition 30 Fails?
As the political odds turn against Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax measure, political insiders are turning their attention, however reluctantly, to the fallout should, indeed, voters reject the sales and income tax hike on Tuesday. Sac Bee (Commentary)

How Proposition 30 Can Still Win
If the November turnout is only 62 percent of registered voters, Proposition 30 will lose because that electorate will be much more like a non-presidential year electorate than what we are used to in a presidential year. Fox and Hounds

More coverage of UTLA’s refusal to sign off on the Race to the Top application: CBS, ABC, Witness LA and KPCC

San Jose Unified, Teachers Reach Breakthrough Evaluation, Pay Plan
The superintendent of San Jose Unified and leaders of the district’s teachers union have agreed on an innovative evaluation and compensation system that, if implemented, would be significantly different from any in California. Ed Source

State and School Officials, Students Getting First-Hand Look at Computer Testing
Small-scale trials of new computer-aided assessments are underway. They will be used starting in 2014-15. SI&A Cabinet Report 

See also the LA Times

Gov. Jerry Brown Has Yet to Pick a Central Prop. 30 Sales Pitch
Mixed messages about Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax-hike initiative underscore his struggle pitching Prop. 30 to voters and have provided fodder for foes. LA Times

Credit Rating for California School Districts Could be Downgraded if Props 30 & 38 Fail
Moody’s Investors Service says the forecast for California school districts is dire, and many are at risk of having their credit rating downgraded if both ballot measures fail. KPCC

Texas, California Do Compete – in Funding Race to the Bottom
In this state, where only 25 percent of schoolchildren are non-Hispanic whites, but 66 percent of likely voters are, it’s not hard to understand why voters are so resistant to tax increases even for public education. Ed Source

SBE’s Charter Network Struggles Like Other Schools With Federal AYP
A new report on the performance of the sprawling network of charter schools under the management of the California State Board of Education found most made progress last year – although like the majority of all other schools statewide, most board-authorized charters also failed to meet federal benchmarks. SI&A Cabinet Report

For These High School Grads, Pomp With Different Circumstances
A fall graduation ceremony in Montebello honors students who had a second chance to catch up. LA Times 

LAUSD Unveils State-of-the-Art Science Center Named for Astronaut Sally Ride
The Sally Ride Center for Environmental Science is a $4.8 million LEED-certified facility that sits behind the Sonia M. Sotomayor Learning Academies. KPCC

New Playa Vista Elementary School Opens After Overcoming Skeptics
On Monday, the brand-new Playa Vista Elementary School just off Lincoln Boulevard held its official grand opening ceremony, complete with statements from politicians, educators, parents and students – many of whom were not yet born when the plan to build the school was conceived. Daily Breeze 

Four L.A. Unified Schools to Offer Free Flu Clinics
Four schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District will offer free flu vaccination clinics Tuesday for students, their families and staff, district officials announced Monday at the Edward Roybal Learning Center. LA Times 

Dr. Judith Perez, President of AALA

The administrators’ association has been repeatedly complaining to the school district about administrators’ workload (see: Principals: Too Many Plans). But the AALA hasn’t been getting much time or attention from LAUSD Superintendent Deasy who, according to the October 22  newsletter, says he’s too focused on Props 30 and 38 to meet with them.

“Finding resources to help and committing them before we know if we might go bankrupt seems like irresponsible leadership NOT disrespectful behavior towards you or any of our fantastic principals,” emailed Deasy, according to the newsletter. In response, the AALA has cancelled its scheduled meetings with Deasy.

*The original version of this post incorrectly described Deasy as having canceled meetings with the principals when it was actually the other way around.

Measuring the Worth of a Teacher?
L.A. Unified School District’s Academic Growth Over Time measurement system, based on students’ progress on standardized tests, spurs debate over fairness, accuracy. LA Times

State Strips 23 Schools of API Rankings for Cheating
Teachers helped students correct mistakes on standardized tests, prepared them with actual test questions or left instructional posters displayed in the classroom during testing, according to school district reports. LA Times

Proposition 30 Analysis: Does California Need More Tax Money?
Even if the measure fails, funding for schools is expected to increase 21 percent from 2012 to 2015 because of economic growth. The $6 billion trigger-cut figure stems from the fact that he and the Legislature started the budget year by assuming that Proposition 30 would pass. Daily News

Brown Brings Prop. 30 Campaign to L.A.’s Grand Central Market
Fighting for support for his tax-hike initiative to help fund education, Gov. Jerry Brown aims his message at Latinos. LA Times

Scare Tactics — and Scary Protests Over Prop. 30 — and Some School-Based Advocacy May Be Illegal
With less than two weeks before the Nov. 6 elections, officials have been stressing the potentially devastating impacts on public education if the measure fails. But some critics call these methods scare tactics and in at least one case say the educators’ efforts violated election laws. Daily News

State Auditor Takes a Closer Look at LAUSD Misconduct Cases, Practices
State auditors are expected to finish in the coming weeks a formal review of how Los Angeles Unified handled claims of misconduct lodged against teachers and other employees, including whether district officials followed all applicable laws. SI&A Cabinet Report

LAUSD Board Member Steve Zimmer Honored as Elected Official of the Year
Los Angeles Board of Education Member Steve Zimmer is being honored Saturday as the 2012-13 Elected Official of the Year by the California Association of School Counselors. Patch / Press Release

A Lot is New Under the Hood in High School Auto Shop Classes
Auto shop’s long skid in the face of budget cuts and a shift toward college-prep classes may be reversing. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the San Diego Unified School District. LA Times