Troubles encountered by the charter school operator, Magnolia Public Schools (MPS), at two of its eight charters in the LA Unified School District highlight a murky governance issue that legislatures in California and elsewhere have been slow to address. Should a parent company operate its charter school network as a single entity, as MPS does with...

New troubles for the non-profit charter school network, Magnolia Public Schools (MPS), are beginning to raise concerns beyond LA Unified, where the sudden closure of two schools for fiscal mismanagement expanded yesterday into what could be a larger investigation. In a letter outlining a recent fiscal audit that led to the closure of the two...

With seven candidates vying for the vacant LAUSD school board seat in South LA, what would it take to pull ahead of the pack and head off a costly stand-alone runoff? Coinciding with the California statewide primary on June 3, the special election was called to fill the District 1 board seat, left vacant by death last...

*UPDATED With three weeks to go before the election, George McKenna, a leading candidate for the LA Unified school board representing south LA, is refusing to clarify whether he supports John Deasy, the district’s current superintendent. McKenna’s unwillingness to provide a clear answer comes at an important time for the school district, the second-largest in...

    The latest forum for candidates running in a special election to fill the vacant seat in South LA’s District 1 produced unexpected agreement last night on some of the most volatile issues in public education. The four contenders who participated — Alex Johnson, Rachel Johnson, Genethia Hudley-Hayes and George McKenna — saw eye to eye on nearly every core issue...

UPDATED* A committee launched last year by LA Unified’s Office of Labor Relations to provide public information on labor negotiations is meeting today to discuss the district’s collective bargaining contracts. That the committee even exists has not been reported until now. Called the “Sunshine Committee,” it is intended to bring transparency to the negotiating process. According...

Despite her inability to substantiate a number of academic credentials and other claims on her resume, Genethia Hudley-Hayes still has the backing of  her major supporters in the race for the LA Unified District 1 board seat. “Outsiders don’t get it,” said one longtime south Los Angeles activist who spoke to LA School Report on the condition...

In his first State of the City speech, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti laid out a plan to boost job creation, safety and the city’s ability to compete in a global economy. Noticeably absent, however, was any mention of the vast education challenges facing the city. The Mayor’s vision of Los Angeles was notable for...

Rather than jump to conclusions in the case of allegations first reported here earlier this month, that a LA Unified School Board candidate, Genethia Hudley-Hayes, has numerous inaccuracies in her resume, we at LA School Report embarked on our own due-diligence. What we found were a series of repeated conflicts and inconsistencies over a number of years,...