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The LA Unified school board spent more than an hour last night, debating dates for the next three academic calendar years.

Ultimately, the members decided to keep the schedule similar to this year’s — starting in mid-August with three weeks of winter break — but only for one year.

The plan passed on a 5-2 vote, with George McKenna and Richard Vladovic dissenting. The board also agreed to study the matter further before committing additional years to the same schedule.

The debate centered on issues including time enough for college applications, the burden of childcare over a long winter break, the length of summer vacation and how the schedule not only affects student grades, but also their attendance, which translates into money for the district.

In the process, the board generally discounted the district’s efforts to survey more than families by phone, computer and community meetings for their preferences.

“The survey was awful,” said board member Scott Schmerelson. “I don’t think people knew what they were doing.”

Schmerelson said he attended all of the community meetings held by the district to get input for the calendar and concluded that the survey was confusing. The district also conducted a phone survey in September, another two months later and made available an online survey.

The responses showed that a majority of parents and teachers supported mid-to late-August start dates rather than an after-Labor Day start. Most also said they wanted the first semester to end before winter break. New superintendent Michelle King also said student body presidents and school administrators preferred the mid-August start.

For the first time yesterday, a student sat among the board members and cast “advisory” votes on every issue before them.

In his first remarks, Leon Popa, a 16-year-old junior from STEM Academy at Bernstein High, said he talked to fellow students and teachers and concluded, “People would want a longer summer and struggle with three weeks of winter vacation. It would be really tough with underprivileged families taking care of them.”

He pointed out that having a shorter summer impedes plans for summer internships and that “people make plans and have commitments.” He voted to adopt the one-year plan with the schedule suggested by the superintendent’s staff.

In the adopted calendar, the first day of school will be Aug. 16, 2016 with a full week of vacation over Thanksgiving, as it was this year. The first semester ends Friday, Dec. 16 and school resumes on Jan. 9, 2017 after three full weeks of vacation. There is a Spring break from April 10 to 14 and the last day of school is Friday, June 9, 2017.

Three parents spoke against the new schedule, citing family trips and hopes for a longer summer. Debra Moreno Garcia, a parent of two LAUSD students, cited studies saying that a semester split by the winter break doesn’t necessarily mean more failures in tests.

In arguing for a later starting date, Vladovic cited the expenses of air conditioning schools during the summer. In past years, a longer summer schedule resulted in more than $4 million in added expenses. “But of course, these days it gets to 90 degrees in December, so that’s hard to predict,” he said.

McKenna proposed his own schedule that would start school after Labor Day. “We do not need a whole week off during Thanksgiving,” he said, but staff pointed out that absenteeism rises over a shorter Thanksgiving break.

“Obviously, people are passionate about the calendar,” said board member Mónica Ratliff.

Assistant superintendent Earl Perkins said that the staff had recommended the schedule for three years so that families could plan vacations and that the MiSiS computer system could be programmed well in advance.

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The demonstration follows the release today of a Broad-commissioned poll, showing that a large majority of city residents want more choices — charters — for their children’s education. The plan calls for 260 new charters within eight years to serve as many as half the children attending LA Unified schools.

“Broad is working with the Waltons of Walmart and other billionaires to destroy LAUSD,” UTLA says on its website. “We are demanding that the School Board join us in rejecting Broad’s parasitic plan. Losing 50% of LAUSD enrollment would trigger a severe loss in funding for crucial resources and programs for our students, cost tens of thousands of LAUSD jobs, and create a race to the bottom that will hurt all schools and all students.”

The foundation denies any destructive intent.

“Los Angeles families have made it clear that they want high-quality public school options, and we want to support them in their efforts to access educational opportunity,” Swati Pandey, the foundation’s communications manager, said in a statement. “Our only interest is in supporting the growth of high-quality public schools.”

The board is scheduled to consider approvals and five-year renewals of 15 charter schools and the creation of two magnet schools.

The two new gifted magnet centers are scheduled to open in 2016 at Kennedy High School and Taft High School. Kennedy, located in Granada Hills is a Gifted, Highly Gifted, High Ability Medical Magnet for grades 9 through 12. Taft, located in Woodland Hills, is a Gifted, Highly Gifted, High Ability Science, Technology, English, Arts and Math Magnet Center for grades 9 through 12.

“We are committed to expanding excellence in district choice options across our communities,” board president Steve Zimmer told LA School Report. “Taft and Kennedy may be the first but they certainly won’t be the last. And I expect that we will, aligned with our equity mission, focus in the near future on proposals that address in district choice options for children living in the most severe conditions of poverty and segregation.”

These are not to be confused with the dual immersion schools such as the Mandarin-immersion program in Zimmer’s district.

“Dual immersion programs are an important part of this equation,” Zimmer said. “I continue to look forward to both a comprehensive district wide plan for expanding language immersion programs and a specific proposal for supporting our programs in the Venice complex.”

Among other items, Superintendent Ramon Cortines will have his staff give an update on the district science scores (spoiler alert: they are pretty poor). The board will be asked to certify a final Environmental Impact Report for district-wide school repairs and construction for a total of $7.8 billion. The board will also discuss replacing the melting turf at athletic fields at half a dozen schools.

In another issue, the board consider approving final offers to charter school organizations seeking to share space with public schools under the state Prop 39 protocols.

Board members also have a bunch of resolutions to get approved. The most prolific at this meeting is Mónica Ratliff who has proposed resolutions recognizing National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Substitute Educators Appreciation Day, National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, Native American Heritage Month, America’s Safe Schools Week, National Retirement Security Week, Celebrating College Awareness and a Study of Parent Centers. Ratliff will also be co-sponsoring National Coming Out Day with fellow board members Mónica García and Ref Rodriguez.

Then, there are the little things (kidding), like the approval of $5 million for seven vendors doing anti-bullying campaigns, $338,000 for bathroom partitions across the district, and the approval of 9,213 routine personnel promotions, transfers, leaves and terminations.

Among the lawsuits that the board will discuss in a morning closed session is a case involving the district’s responsibility in a case involving molestation that went on at Edison Middle School. The teacher was found guilty, and LAUSD was found not responsible for the sexual liaisons that took place on and off campus.

The closed session begins at 10 a.m., with the open session scheduled to start three hours later.

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Among the agenda items of interest is discussion about potential layoffs as the district looks to balance a budget deficit of $160 million for next year. Also on the agenda is discussion about upgrades to some rundown schools and a number of charter school renewals.

Click here to get the agenda and materials for the meeting.

Click here for LIVESTREAM COVERAGE

UTLA teachers protesting at Carver Middle School this morning (photo credit: UTLA)

* UPDATED

Despite new money from the state, LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines is taking direct aim at the district’s $160 million budget deficit with proposed layoffs that include hundreds of teachers.

District officials have calculated that to reduce the deficit, the number of teachers, administrators, counselors and nurses — certificated employees — must be reduced by 609 for the 2015-2016 academic year. Additional cuts are projected to come from among support staff employees.

Already, said Lydia Ramos, a district spokeswoman, departments throughout district headquarters are being reduced by at least 8 percent with some as much as 40 percent.

The proposed layoffs will be presented to the school board at its monthly meeting tomorrow, and they come as the state has moved forward from a long period of recession There was additional optimism across the district based on the expectations that Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget, due in May, would identify an increase in spending for state public schools.

But Ramos said the proposed layoffs are aimed at reducing a “structural” deficit, which cannot be eliminated by one-time funds.

“Laying off permanent certificated employees will permit the district to meet district and student needs as a result of continued and unresolved budgetary shortfalls for the 2015-2016 academic school year,” district staff told board members in an analysis as a prelude to tomorrow’s meeting.

Alex-Caputo-Pearl, president of the teachers union, UTLA, called the proposed action “out of step” with the chronic challenges faced at district school sites.

By terms of the district’s labor agreement with the teachers union, UTLA, certificated employees must be notified by March 15 that they could be laid or reassigned. Once the number of non-certificated employees is determined, the district has 60 days to notify them.

For relations between the district and UTLA, proposed layoffs could not come at a worse time. After months of stalled negotiations for a new labor contract, the sides are now before the state Public Employee Relations Board seeking mediation.

“There’s a national civil rights movement to curb the school to prison pipeline.  Yet, LAUSD is cutting counselors and social workers,” Caputo-Pearl told LA School Report, citing some of the possible district target cuts. “There’s huge income inequality and a tremendous need for job training for adults. Yet, LAUSD is cutting Adult Education. There’s 3,000 classes in the city with over 45 students.  Yet, LAUSD is cutting educators to raise class size.  LAUSD is simply out of step with the needs at schools.”

The union has been standing firm on seeking an 8.5 percent pay raise for teachers, one of a dozen demands, while the district is offering 5 percent. Union officials insist the money is readily available, based on expectations of more money from the state.

An inability to close the gap could lead to a teachers strike. 

Other major issues before the board tomorrow include large-scale upgrades to some of the districts oldest and most rundown schools. In all, the improvements will cost the district upwards of $43 million in bond funds.

The Facilities department is recommending the approval of $5.5 million for a series of modernization projects at 11 school sites. Another series of projects under the Strategic Execution Plan, asks the board to sign off on spending $30 million on energy efficient lighting upgrades at school sites throughout the district. And, Facilities says, more than $8 million is needed to address critical school repair needs at three additional schools.

Accelerated Elementary Charter School (ACES) is increasing its request of bond funds to $12.9 million from $5 million to build a new campus.

There are two charter schools renewals likely before the board. The charters for Ararat Charter School in Van Nuys and Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise in South LA have been given the green light by the Charter Schools Division. However, an application by Prepa Tec Los Angeles High School in Huntington Park will almost certainly be denied. According to the district’s charter schools department, the group presented “an unsound educational program for the pupils to be enrolled in the charter school.”

Canoga Park High School withdrew its charter conversion request after the charter schools division recommended the board deny its petition. School officials said they will try again at a later time.

Board Member Tamar Galatzan is proposing a plan to streamline the district’s process for creating magnet school programs. Magnet schools are often seen as the best solution for countering the proliferation of charter schools and subsequent flight of students from traditional public schools.

Galatzan’s resolution directs the superintendent to develop a comprehensive strategic plan that assesses current trends in magnet school enrollment, broken down according to geographic Educational Service Center and establishes guidelines for long-term goals and strategies.

*Adds comment from UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl

At 10:00 a.m., the board is set to hear an update on the troubled computer system, MiSiS, which, has caused management and scheduling snafus at several schools. The board is also set to vote on the terms and conditions of the employment contract for Cortines as well as hear public comment.

In a closed-door session to follow, of note is a late addition to the agenda of an item listed as ‘Public Employment, Chief Deputy Superintendent of Schools,’  a possible look at the employment Michelle King, who was passed over to serve as interim superintendent after she offered up her services to replace Deasy.  The agenda is here.

At 2:00 p.m., the Committee of the Whole is scheduled to meet to discuss the controversy over the district’s temporary suspension of the Parent Trigger Law will be discussed with a presentation by Gloria Romero, former California State Senator. The committee’s agenda is here.

At 3:15 p.m., the full board will return for a Special Session to report on the labor negotiations between the teachers union and the district. Agenda is here.

At 4:15 p.m. the Committee on Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment is set to meet to discuss, among other items, the Public School Choice Initiative, first launched in 2011 by then interim Superintendent Cortines. That agenda is  here.

Click this picture to watch the livestream of the meeting

The LA Unified Board meeting reconvenes today with a full compliment of members. The board now includes a representative from District 1, George McKenna, who was sworn in earlier in the day. He is replacing the late Marguerite LaMotte.

Among the items for discussion are a review of the district’s labor contracts, a handful of procurement issues and and a vote to affirm the potential revocation of charters for Magnolia Academy 6 and Magnolia Academy 7.

The board voted to close the schools over financial improprieties in June, but a court ruled they could stay open, on the condition of meeting certain criteria. The board is voting to make official its position on revocation.

The board is also planning to approve new committee chairs and set forth meeting schedules.

For the livestream of the meeting, click here.

For meeting agenda, click here, and board materials, here.

LAUSD board members Monica Garcia, Tamar Galatzan and Superintendent John Deasy

An extraordinary year for LA Unified came to an extraordinary end yesterday as the school board unanimously approved —  and with minimal debate — its largest budget in seven years.

The six board members played musical chairs congratulating one another and Superintendent John Deasy for a job well done. Members were especially complimentary of the district’s new effort to include input from community members in shaping the final spending plan.

“What a difference a year makes,” board president Richard Vladovic exclaimed, after lamenting the fiscal crisis of recent years that forced billions in cuts. Board member Tamar Galatzan added, “This is the best budget I’ve seen in the seven years I’ve been here.

The happy ending followed a tumultuous school year, in which the district scrambled to meet the requirements of the Governor Jerry Brown’s new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and create a plan justifying spending (LCAP); faced the potential resignation of the superintendent; suffered the death of Marguerite LaMotte, the board’s longest serving member; grappled with arguments over filling the vacated seat; and –finally — approved $6.4 billion in non-Federal dollars from a total budget of $7.27 billion that adds new teachers, librarians and nurses to a formerly decimated payroll.

The budget represents the first since 2007 that does not include cuts from the previous year. Changes to the law added $332 million from the state, increasing LCFF funding to $4.47 billion from $4.13 billion. The state mandates that $837 million of that is applied toward improving the academic achievement of LA Unified’s neediest students — foster youth, English learners and those from low-income households.

To that end, the budget allocates nearly $10 million for the district’s 11,600 foster youth, a “game changer,” said board member Steve Zimmer. Plans include the expansion of Family Source centers, psychiatric counselors and social workers, and extra tutoring services. Another $5 million will pay to place an Instructional coach at each school with a high English learner population. And, Deasy has pledged to funnel more money to the district’s poorest and highest needs campuses by establishing the Student Need Index, a new metric for determining how the money should be spent.

In general, parents, students and community leaders applauded the scope of the budget and investment in new programs.  Zimmer said the level of community engagement “is a sea change for how we do budgets for this district.”

Unanimity on the budget appeared tenuous during a brief discussion about spending on the arts. Board member Monica Ratliff said in a meeting last week she could not support a final budget unless district officials provided the board with a detailed arts instruction plan for next year. They did not.

However, consensus was assured when Deasy agreed to submit a revised plan for arts education and funding to the board in August. It would entail “a detailed budget showing how much more money would be required to expand [arts instruction] beyond the proposed 9 week rotation … to semester rotations and full year rotations.” It would also establish the creation of an Arts Equity Index, indicating access to comprehensive arts education throughout the district.

“This gets our students far more than I expected,” Ratliff told LA School Report after the meeting.

Deasy said he “could not be more proud” of the approved spending plan before adding, “We’re still woefully, woefully inadequately funded compared with the rest of the country. We have an overwhelming amount of schools in tremendous need. At the end of the implementation of LCFF [in 2017], we’re not even going to be where we were in 2007.”

Conspicuously absent from the approved spending plan are raises for several labor unions including SEIU Local 99, the school workers union; and UTLA, which represents 30,000 teachers and human services employees.

Bargaining sessions are underway between the district and both groups.

The district has offered UTLA a 2 percent raise for 2014-15 with a 2 percent bonus for the school year that just ended. The union is demanding a 17.6 percent increase over an unspecified number of years.

In appearing before the board, UTLA’s in-coming president Alex Caputo-Pearl argued, as he has for months, that the district needs to reduce class size by hiring more teachers, restore the cuts from recent years and find a new approach to the “housing teacher” policy, which he called “destabilizing to communities and destabilizing to schools.”

He told the board members that restoring cuts by eight percent and adding in cost of living raises “is not radical crazy.”

Community rally on school funding, April 7 2014

This morning, the Los Angeles Unified School Board meets to discuss a wide variety of issues including what promises to be a charged debate about a budget plan unveiled by Superintendent John Deasy last week.

Community groups have held a series of meetings and rallies, including one last night, advocating for a say in the budget process – which includes the use of new ‘Local Control’ funding.

To download the superintendent’s budget and presentation click here.
For the school board agenda, click here.

The meeting starts at 10:00 a.m.

To watch it via LIVESTREAM click HERE.

Among other items, the Curriculum Instruction and Assessment Committee is set to discuss the new ‘smarter balanced‘ assessments which will be administered this year on computers and tablets, taking the place of traditional standardized tests.

1:00 p.m.: Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee: (Agenda).

For LA School Report, livestream coverage,

click LIVESTREAM LAUSD

10:00 a.m.: Budget, Facilities and Audit Committee Meeting: (Agenda)

1:00 p.m. Early Childhood Education and Parent Engagement Committee Meeting. (Agenda)

LA School Report, has livestream coverage:

click LIVESTREAM LAUSD

All big issues – and LA School Report, is there live.  Check us out on Twitter @laschoolreport and via LIVESTREAM starting at 1:00 p.m.

To access, click: LIVESTREAM LAUSD

For meeting agenda click: Agenda

• At 1:30 pm the Committee of the Whole, comprised of all board members, meets (see agenda here), check back with LA School Report for live coverage.
• At 5:30 pm the Common Core Technology Project Ad Hoc Committee chaired by school board member Monica Ratliff meets (see agenda here), check back for live coverage.

Superintendent Deasy

The LA Unified school board voted, again, to delay its final decision on crafting and approving the $113 million Common Core budget for at least another week. The money comes from the state and is intended to help school districts transition over the next two years to the new curriculum.

It appeared to be a poke in the eye to Superintendent John Deasy, who had presented the Common Core budget at last month’s Board meeting, with roughly 75 percent of it allocated for teacher training. With input from board members, Deasy’s staff radically altered the plan to give individual schools greater control over the money — under the new version of the budget, each school would receive $70 per student.

“The feedback we got from last board meeting was a desire to have more school-based allocation,” said Deputy Superintendent Jaime Aquino.

But Board members weren’t pleased with this new proposal either. Marguerite LaMotte, for example, was upset that money for parent training was eliminated from the new version.

Bennett Kayser had a number of questions and eventually suggested that the issue be postponed so that it could be discussed in a committee “so that board members can make a more educated vote.” The idea was immediately seconded by Monica Ratliff — sending Deasy back to try again, with the promise of even more questions from board members.

Both Monica Garcia and Tamar Galatzan, Deasy’s staunchest allies on the board, objected to delaying the vote, with Galatzan saying it would be a “great disservice” and suggesting that questions should have been asked prior to the Board meeting.

“I think we have a duty to come prepared to these meetings,” Garcia said.

UTLA President Warren Fletcher objected to the creation of 171 new positions to be filled by current teachers who would train other teachers in the new curriculum, as the proposal outlined. Fletcher argued that the new classifications would have to be the subject of collective bargaining.

The union recently filed an unfair practice claim in the Public Employee Relations Board over a similar matter. Kayser said he had similar objections, as did Ratliff: “My two cents is I think we should move the $24.4 million for local advisors into local control,” she said, referring to money allocated for “teacher advisors.”

Deasy said the board was welcome to amend the budget however members wanted –“Just tell us what you desire,” he said — although he couldn’t resist a shot against Kayser, saying: “If the board’s desire is to not elevate teachers to leadership decisions, we should know that now.”

After more than an hour of discussion, the Board voted, 5-2, with Galatzan and Garcia dissenting, to postpone discussion over the Common Core budget for another week. The Board will convene a special meeting at noon next Tuesday to resume the debate. It will only have around two hours, since Steve Zimmer‘s Committee of the Whole is set to meet at 2 p.m.

Previous posts: LA Unified Getting $113 Million for Common Core Transition*; Deasy, Board Plunging Back into Turbulent Budget Waters; School Board Meeting Wrap Up: More Discussion Than Votes*

School Board Members LaMotte, Garcia and Galatzan all showed up in green

What began as a breezy LA Unified School Board meeting on Tuesday turned, not surprisingly, into a long, tedious, sometimes rancorous session, with a host of issues discussed but rarely resolved. A number of key votes were postponed, and Superintendent John Deasy’s highly anticipated budget presentation was postponed until the Sept. 10 board meeting so it could be considered in the broader context of the 2013-14 budget.

Here are some of the highlights:

• One new feature of Richard Vladovic‘s newly begun presidency (aside from creating a number of new committees) was to order senior staff, including instructional superintendents, to attend board meetings. In many cases, when public commenters brought issues to the school board, Vladovic urged the visitors to meet, on the spot, with the district staffers.

• The Board debated the $113 million budget for implementing the new Common Core State Standards — although voting on the budget was postponed until next month. LAUSD Chief Academic Officer Jaime Aquino pointed out that roughly 75 percent of the budget is set to go toward helping teachers.

Teachers union President Warren Fletcher was none too pleased.

“Having looked at the budget,” he said, “I am sadly taken aback by how thin it is. I don’t think it was well thought through. We will not make progress if dollars are used to build an out-of-classroom bureaucracy.”

A recent online survey by teachers union members showed that teachers feel unprepared for the Common Core transition.

UTLA Vice President Gregg Solkovits struck a more conciliatory tone, saying he was speaking on behalf of “classroom teachers who are not afraid to embrace the Common Core standards.” He urged the board not to rush its implementation. Deasy said that there was “real wisdom” in that comment and pointed out that the district’s plan is to take four years to transition to the new curriculum.

• The deal to hire Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana and loan her to Mayor Eric Garcetti‘s office and be reimbursed by the city was approved unanimously without discussion.

• Another charter co-location dispute arose, this one between Lorena Street Elementary and Extera, a charter operator. Proposition 39 requires LAUSD to share public school facilities equitably with charter schools, leading to sometimes testy co-locations, where district schools and charters share campuses. Just how much space is up for grabs is the subject of an ongoing court battle – in fact, chief counsel Dave Holmquist said the district is filing a brief with the Supreme Court of California on Wednesday.

The dispute spurred board member Steve Zimmer to ask that the board direct the superintendent’s staff to lobby the state to suspend Prop 39. That motion will be voted on next month.

• Member Bennett Kayser‘s motion to convene public input meetings and establish budget priorities passed 5-1, with Tamar Galatzan voting no and Monica Garcia absent.

*Correction: An earlier version incorrectly described the way a charter school shares facility space with a public school.

Previous posts: Vladovic Adds Committees, Doles Out Assignments; Now: Live Tweet LAUSD School Board Meeting; Melendez to Be Hired Under Unusual Salary Arrangement; Deasy to Board: Your Wish List Could Cost $1.4 Billion; Board Preview: Deasy Will Present Hiring Options and Their Cost

Vladovic asked Board member Marguerite LaMotte to continue in her role as chair of the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee; somewhat surprisingly, he asked Board member Tamar Galatzan to continue in her role as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee.

Galatzan is known as being one of the more fiscally prudent board members; she also ran against Vladovic for president.

As School Board Vice President, Steve Zimmer will chair the Committee of the Whole, which holds in-depth debates on various topics.

Vladovic also proposed the creation of five new ad hoc committees: adult education, to be chaired by Zimmer, who will work closely with Mayor Eric Garcetti‘s staff; Common Core technology, to be chaired by teacher and newly elected member Monica Ratliff; early childhood education, to be chaired by Bennett Kayser; “great schools,” also to be chaired by Ratliff; and one last committee, also to be chaired by Galatzan, which will focus on trying to make Board meetings more efficient.

“I look forward to changing these meetings,” said Vladovic. “We feel they could be more transparent and more efficient.”

That left every Board member besides Vladovic and Garcia as chair of at least one committee. Garcia suggested the creation of a facilities committee, but Vladovic reminded her that facilities fell under the purview of Galatzan’s budget committee.

“Today, committee chairs were given to those board members who requested to chair those committees,” said Michael Trujillo, a media advisor to Vladovic. “As more committees are formed more chairs will be named.”

Besides adding committees, Vladovic also asked instructional superintendents and other senior staff to attend board meetings.

Garcia’s six-year tenure as president was marked, in recent years, by a dearth of committees, allowing some board members visit LAUSD’s downtown headquarters only once or twice a month. Now board members will have to brave the drive downtown at least once a week.

Previous posts: Now: Live Tweet LAUSD School Board Meeting; Board Preview: Deasy Will Present Hiring Options and Their Cost; Vladovic Defeats Galatzan for Board President; Marathon Board Meeting Signals Changes to Come

Board member Vladovic (standing) speaks as Board members Kayser and Ratliff listen

In one of the more dramatic meetings in recent memory, the newly installed 2013-2014 LAUSD School Board selected Dr. Richard Vladovic (standing, left) as its next President by a vote of 5 to 2.

Newly sworn-in Board member Monica Ratliff joined Steve Zimmer, Marguerite LaMotte, Bennett Kayser and Vladovic himself in the majority. Outgoing Board President Monica Garcia nominated and voted for Tamar Galatzan, who received two votes.

Pre-meeting rumors had Zimmer neck and neck with Vladovic, but those turned out to be off the mark, as Zimmer was never nominated. Neither Galatzan nor Mayor Garcetti (rumored to be working behind the scenes) were able to persuade Zimmer or Ratliff to break from the bloc of independent and/or union-allied Board members.

In an especially moving moment, Ratliff was sworn in by her mother, first in Spanish and then in English. By the time it was over, Ratliff’s mom was sobbing, and Ratliff’s eyes were filled with tears.

“I think it’s really interesting how often people tell you things can’t be done,” said Ratliff, who was the decided underdog in her election against Antonio Sanchez.

Garcia, in her speech, praised Ratliff and noted that she was the “seventh Latina to serve on the board in a hundred years.”

Zimmer’s speech lasted upwards of 20 minutes and included a passionate denunciation of “corporate greed,” which he said is trying to take over public education.

“We should never be data driven,” he said, “We should be data informed… We should avoid the seduction of easy answers.”

But the main event was unquestionably the vote for Board President, the outcome of which no one seemed to be able to predict.

Marguerite LaMotte interrupted Superintendent John Deasy in order to nominate Vladovic. Monica Garcia then nominated Tamar Galatzan.

Perhaps surprisingly, no one nominated Steve Zimmer.

Then, just as Deasy was about to call for a vote, Ratliff interrupted to move that both candidates make a speech about their priorities.

Vladovic offered a policy-focused speech, calling for the restoration of funding to adult education, as well as a new public relations campaign.

“I want to work very hard on the image of this district,” said Vladovic.

Galatzan’s speech focused more on process, saying she wanted to fix the public comment system. She also pointed out that she was “a big supporter of our new mayor Eric Garcetti. Having that strong relationship is going to be vitally important.”

Vladovic had endorsed Garcetti’s opponent, Wendy Greuel.

Sources have said that in the last month, Mayor Garcetti was working behind the scenes to get either Galatzan or Zimmer elected as President of the Board. If Garcetti did indeed ask Board members to vote for Galatzan, today’s vote is an early sign that his influence on the Board will be limited.

In her remarks, Galatzan appealed directly to Zimmer and Ratliff, who were clearly the two swing votes. Galatzan needed both of them to win.  Vladovic needed just one — and in the end he got both.

After the speeches, Deasy again asked for a vote, and again Ratliff interrupted to ask the candidates who they would choose as their Vice President. Vladovic said Zimmer; Galatzan said she would ask Ratliff herself.

In the end, the Board voted 5-2 for Vladovic, who then stepped to the center of the dais to chair the rest of the meeting.

A recent Daily News story revealed that Vladovic is under investigation for harassment  by the district. However, as the LA Times noted today, some Vladovic allies have suggested that the leak came from Superintendent Deasy himself or someone authorized by him to do so.

Board members Monica Garcia, Steve Zimmer and Monica Ratliff were all sworn in for four-year terms.

As promised, Dr. Vladovic chose Zimmer as his Vice President.

Previous posts: Vladovic or Zimmer Likely Pick for School Board President; Reinstatement for Former Vladovic Chief of Staff; Harassment Allegations Could Hurt Vladovic’s Chances

Dr. Vladovic, right, was the frontrunner to become the next President until recent revelations about an ongoing investigation

On Tuesday, the School Board will convene for a sort of mini-meeting to swear in current members Monica Garcia, Steve Zimmer and the newly elected Monica Ratliff.

It will also vote to elect a new Board President, a position held by Garcia for the last six years. The Board recently voted to limit the jobs to two consecutive year-long terms.

Until recently, the likely frontrunner for the job was Dr. Richard Vladovic, who is said to have been lobbying other Board members for the job. But as Daily News reported this morning, Dr. V is currently under investigation for harassing two employees.

We’ll have more about the fallout from the Vladovic allegations later today.

One interesting thing to note is the procedure for choosing a president. Superintendent John Deasy will ask for nominations — and who gets called on first is his choice. The Board votes on nominees right after they’re made, meaning that there could be only one nomination. Conversely, nominations could be voted on multiple times.

On Tuesday the Board will also appoint a Vice President who runs the meetings when the President is absent or has recused him or herself. It will then vote on about a dozen routine items of business, and then break for most of the summer.

Previous posts: Vladovic the Frontrunner for President; Zimmer Reversal Likely Ends Garcia Presidency*; Deasy Skirmish With Board Members a Long Time Coming; Board Members Ask Deasy To Explain Himself; Defiant Deasy Says He’ll Push Targeted Spending Plan Anyway

Superintendent John Deasy, Board President Monica Garcia, and departing Board member Nury Martinez

As anyone following us on Twitter knows all too well, Tuesday’s School Board meeting was a marathon session that lasted well into the night — much of it accompanied by the sound of protesters drumming on the street outside.

Among several key decisions the Board arrived at during the lengthy session were votes to award a $30 million contract to Apple, close a charter school that had dodged a district audit, and add some local regulations to the controversial parent trigger process (but not call for the law’s repeal).

The last meeting of the 2012-2013 school year, it also marked the final appearance of Nury Martinez, who left the Board after four years to run for City Council.

School Board President Monica Garcia presented Martinez with a giant bell, and Board held a bizarre mid-meeting reception in her honor that included a soft jazz band and chicken salad sandwiches.

By 9 pm, when the meeting finally ended, the Board had also approved its 2013-14 budget and begun a furious (and likely to be long-running) debate on how to spend future revenue increases.

If last month’s Board meeting represented a series of hard-fought victories for Superintendent John Deasy and his allies on the Board, last night’s meeting included a couple of losses, with a hint of more to come when the Board changes composition and leadership next month.

iPads for All

Union president Warren Fletcher addresses the Board

A Deasy proposal to equip tens of thousands of students with iPads passed unanimously despite lengthy discussion and no small amount of controversy leading up to the vote.

Addressing the Board, UTLA President Warren Fletcher called the plan “not fully baked,” saying that hiring more teachers and counselors should take priority over the technology plan, which aims to prepare students for the new state standardized tests, which must be taken on computers.

Board member Steve Zimmer worried that the tablet devices don’t come with keyboards, while Dr. Vladovic said that on a recent trip to Best Buy he found a better price.

Chief facilities executive Mark Hovatter explained that of the 13 bids received by the district for Phase I of its technology plan, which aims to put a tablet computer in the hands of every student and teacher by the end of 2014, only three were found to be acceptable.

The three finalists — Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard — all went through what Hovatter called a “rigorous selection process” that included testing by students and teachers.

Not only did the iPad receive the highest rating, it was also the cheapest of any device, at $678 per unit – which includes the software, cases and a 3-year warranty. That price represents a discount for the district, since they are buying the tablets in bulk.

Zimmer called the vote “one of the most high-profile contracts this board will ever approve.”

Board member Bennett Kayser recused himself from the discussion and the vote because he owns Apple stock; Superintendent John Deasy and General Counsel David Holmquist left the room during the discussion because they too own Apple stock.

Students will be allowed to take the iPads home with them. Independent charter school students will be given iPads as well as district students.

There will be no new bidding process for the next phase of the technology plan. Apple will automatically be awarded the next contract unless the Board intervenes.

(For more see the LA Times)

Local Spending Plan Postponed

Board members Martinez (left) and Galatzan pose together during the Board’s going-away reception for Martinez (via LADN)

A resolution by Board member Tamar Galatzan, intended as a sort of mirror to Governor Brown’s new state education finance formula, was postponed.

The Galatzan  proposal would do two seemingly contradictory things: set a minimum level of funding for each school site and also make sure schools with a higher concentration of low-income students, English language learners and foster kids receive a funding boost.

Deasy spoke in favor of the motion.

“We want a plan that is mindful of the tenets of the Local Control Funding Formula,” he said, referring to Brown’s new funding scheme. “I think of all the motions, this is likely to be the most important thing you decide.”

UTLA President Warren Fletcher was opposed to the targeting provisions in the proposal, however.

“Every school deserves a librarian, every school deserves a nurse,” he said. “The dollar-following-a-child model is something that causes us grave concern.”

“I’m just a little shocked,” responded Galatzan. “UTLA is opposed because they don’t trust schools to hire teachers.”

Board Member Marguerite LaMotte angrily denounced the idea of letting school sites decide how revenue is spent.

“The District knows what the schools need!” she said. “And I’m tired of monetizing children!”

It was hard to know what Lamotte meant by that last comment, since per-pupil spending is an engrained part of public education finance.

“If you want to pretend people in this building know everything, we’re doomed for failure,” said Galatzan.

Board member Zimmer said he was “hesitant to lock in strategies” for spending before final regulations from the State legislature are approved.

In the end, the Board voted 4-3 to postpone their decision on Galatzan’s resolution.

Money, Money, Money

The district’s $6.2 billion budget for 2013-14, drawn up by Superintendent John Deasy, was approved unanimously, after a number of public speakers pleaded with the Board to restore budget cuts.

A number of public commenters pleaded with the board to restore various programs, but there was little discussion from the Board members themselves, who are bound by law to pass a budget by July 1.

Despite more than $200 million in additional in funds, most restorations will have to wait at least another year.

The Board also approved two proposals directing Superintendent Deasy to draw up plans spend future revenue from Proposition 30 and Governor Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula.

The first, a motion by Board President Garcia to explore the feasibility of lengthening the school year beyond 180 days, passed unanimously if not without some concerns being expressed.

The other motion, written by Board member Bennet Kayser, called on LAUSD to hire more teachers, counselors, librarians and other LAUSD employees, in line with the ratios that existed before the recession in 2007. It was approved 5-2, with Galatzan and Garcia voting no.

It is unlikely the District would be able to afford both resolutions. But Deasy will report back to the Board within 90 days with a few different options.

“We do need to have a balanced approach with extending the school year,” noted Board member Zimmer.

“If we did everything we say we’re going to do, it will take about 15 minutes for the County to step in and take us over, cause we don’t have the money for all these things,” said Board member Richard Vlaldovic.

“This resolution wasn’t meant to be a be-all-end-all,” agreed Board member Kayser. “We’re asking the Superintendent to make some proposals that are within the budget of Prop. 30 and Local Control Funding Formula.”

Board member Zimmer lashed out at the resolution’s critics, who include the LA Times editorial page, saying there was a “whisper campaign” to call the hiring of more employees as an “adult agenda.”

“The counselor-to-student ratio is 900 to 1,” said Zimmer. “That’s a civil rights issue.” He also pointed out that the popularity of charter schools is due in part to their smaller class sizes.

“If they weren’t sending us a message on class size, it wouldn’t be on the front of every charter school website,” he said.

Garcia said she wanted to support the resolution but was “not convinced that 2007-08” was the right year to set as a goal.

(For more see the Daily News)

Parents, students and school staff demonstrate in favor of Academia Semillas. The schools head, Marcos Aguilar, dances in the center.

Charter School Not Renewed

In one of the day’s more dramatic turns, the Board voted 6-1 to deny the renewal of  Anahuacalmecac International University Preparatory High School’s charter.

A large number of parents, students and school staff, many dressed in full Aztec regalia, showed up to demonstrate outside the meeting.

For hours leading up to the vote, furious drum beating could be heard inside the Board room. (When this reporter went outside to photograph them, he was recognized instantly by a woman with a megaphone; she screamed at the reporter, “Do your homework!”)

Superintendent Deasy’s office recommended the non-renewal after the school, which is run by the Charter operator Academia Semillas del Pueblo, failed to comply with an audit by the district’s Office of the Inspector General. According to the district, the school was also suffering from a structural deficit, as well as fluctuating test scores and attendance.

School board President Monica Garcia was the sole vote to give Semillas another 5 years, citing in part the fact that the school was trying something different — educating students about the indigenous culture of the Aztecs.

“I respectfully disagree with your team,” she said, addressing Superintendent Deasy. “There is an indigenous culture being celebrated.”

When Semillas’ elementary school’s charter came up last year for renewal, Deasy’s office also recommended its non-renewal. But the district voted 4-3 to override Deasy.

This time around, Board members Zimmer, Martinez and Vladovic all reversed their votes.

Regulations Coming for Parent Trigger Process

Based on a new resolution proposed by Board member Zimmer and passed by the Board, the District will seek to bring greater order and transparency to the process when parents gather signatures to reform or even take over a failing school under California’s “parent trigger” law.

A number of parents and teachers at the Board meeting spoke out against the law.

UTLA President Warren Fletcher called the current law “very, very bad” and said it was “built on the premise that the only way to reform a school is for one group of stakeholders to blame another group of stakeholders.”

Board member Zimmer’s resolution was aimed at added a few regulations to the process at the local level. It would provide public information about the process and independently verify signatures. It also would direct the district to lobby the State legislature to make changes to the law.

“There is very little that the School Board is actually able to control as the state law stands now,” Zimmer admitted. As the law is written, only parents that sign the trigger petition can, in the end, vote on the transformation model. Zimmer wants that changed. “It’s a basic democratic principle. If we believe in change, it’s gotta be for everyone.”

Even Board member Galatzan, who opposed the measure, admitted that  “the parent trigger law is flawed… We need to ask [the state legislature] for guidance when we have evidence of fraud in the signature gathering, or misconduct.”

At one point during the debate, Deasy suggested that the Board might have an easier time if it called on the state to repeal the law rather than seeking fixes.

The Board initially voted to adopt Deasy’s recommendation, 4-3, with Kayser, Martinez, Galatzan, and Garcia in favor.  However, it later reversed itself and passed the original Zimmer language 4-3 thanks to a change of vote by Board member Kayser.

(See also: The Daily News)

For even more quotes and tidbits from the proceedings, check our Twitter feed, complete with pictures and video.

Previous posts: Live Coverage: School Board Meeting; LA Times: Kayser Resolutions “Silly,” Make “No Sense”; Update: Controversy Awaits $30 Million iPad Vote; Board Preview: Budget, Parent Trigger, iPads

UTLA President Warren Fletcher speaking to the School Board

There was an air of excitement surrounding today’s special Board meeting to discuss LAUSD’s budget, resulting in no less than four television crews in addition to KNX radio and three (count ’em!) education reporters live-tweeting the proceedings.

The cause of all the excitement?  The expected clash between Board members who want LAUSD to rehire teachers and reduce class sizes — included among them Board Member Bennett Kayser, who requested the added meeting — and other Board members like Tamar Galatzan who would prefer to revamp how funds are disbursed among schools (and Superintendent John Deasy, who wants to give everyone a raise before doing much rehiring).

Unfortunately, the event turned into something of a dud, filled with familiar budget presentations and predictable pleas for additional funding. There was little real debate over what district priorities should be once revenue from Proposition 30 starts to pour in, and any decision over the shape of things to come will have to wait until the June 18 Board meeting.

Board member Steve Zimmer talking to KCAL 9

First, the Board listened to nearly two hours of presentations going over information that is largely familiar to close observers of LAUSD, if not the Board members themselves.

Most of it focused on the dismal state of school finance in California, which ranks 49 out of 50 in per pupil spending compared to other states.

The rest focused on Governor Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula proposal, which the Board strongly  supports (and would provide LAUSD with an additional $188 million in state funding in the next school year alone).

The public commentary (when individuals address the Board) consisted mostly of various district stakeholders and parents asking for budget cuts made over the last few years to be restored. PE teachers called for the hiring of more PE teachers; Arts teachers called for the restoration of Arts programs; the Administrators union called for more Administrators. You get the idea.

As for what to do with future funding increases, it’s no secret that the School Board is divided on how to spend its expected revenue increase.

Board members Steve Zimmer, Bennett Kayser and Dr. Richard Vladovic introduced a motion that would restore LAUSD employment to pre-recession levels.

Teachers union President Warren Fletcher thanked the trio and praised the resolution as a “wonderful first step toward keeping the promise of Proposition 30,” the temporary sales tax passed by California voters in November to fund public education.

Board member Tamar Galatzan, who couldn’t attend today’s meeting (she was in court — part of her other job in the City Attorney’s office), told the Daily News she opposes that motion, and had her own counter-proposal introduced today.

Superintendent John Deasy, meanwhile, favors giving all current employees raises, rather than hiring new employees.

Underlying all of this is LAUSD’s structural deficit, caused by a continued drop in enrollment. Even when you account for the rise in independent charter schools, the number of students attending LA public schools has dropped every year since 2003-04.

Enrollment decline, combined with the recession, is the reason the district has been forced to make such drastic cuts. LAUSD has only been able to close the its deficit in recent years is by dipping into a cash reserve fund that will be exhausted by the end of the 2013-14 school year.

Governor Brown’s Local Control Funding Proposal would give more money to districts like LAUSD that have high percentages of English Language Learners, foster kids and students from low-income families.

But even if the proposal passes, the district still faces deficits in the short term — and California funding will still lag behind other states.

“Even if the Local Control Funding Formula passes,” said Dennis Meyers of the California School Board Association, “California would still rank 48th nationally in per pupil spending. We need to start a conversation about what’s next. Proposition 30 is temporary.”

The State budget is due in less than two weeks, on June 15. LAUSD’s budget is due on July 1, and will be voted on during the next Board meeting, on June 18.

Previous posts: School Budget Board Meeting; Deasy: Raises & Deficit Reduction Before New Hires; Conflicting Options at Tomorrow’s Board Meeting; Board to Consider Hiring, Formula Issues