Tuesday, September 30, 2008

SCHOOLS TEACHING HIGHER NUMBERS OF HOMELESS STUDENTS: School districts around the country are learning how to cope with more homeless students in their classrooms.

by Lindsey Chapman | findingDulcinea.com

Lindsey joined findingDulcinea in June of 2007. Previously, she worked for three years at an investment research firm, where she studied the energy industry, the stock market, and managed a small writing team. Lindsey also spent a short time as a legal assistant. She has a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Montana. To learn more about Lindsey visit her blog, Mommy Multitasking.

Sources in this Story

“Waiting for a hurricane”

September 30, 2008 10:00 AM -- From Oregon to Massachusetts, U.S. schools are finding higher numbers of homeless students on their rosters than in the past.

In North Carolina, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools have seen a 35 percent increase in their homeless population in two years. Annabelle Suddreth, who directs a nonprofit organization to help homeless students and their families, said the housing crisis and economic struggles will likely push that number higher.

“It’s sort of like waiting for a hurricane,” Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, told The Charlotte Observer. “We know it’s coming. It’s just a matter of when.”

Sue Runkle, a Montana homeless education liaison, has seen the number of kids in her program more than double since last year. The majority are in kindergarten through sixth grade; probably because younger children are often more willing to talk about their circumstances, and they generally have just one teacher a day, which makes them easier to spot.

Regardless of why homeless students come to them, educators know they can offer something important to these youngsters: stability and a chance to stop their homeless problem from continuing. “That’s what’s going to break the cycle of homelessness, is education,” Runkle said in a Billings Gazette article. “I don’t want them to give up.”

Challenges Schools Face

Educating homeless students can put a financial strain on schools that don’t know when to expect them. In Massachusetts, officials are seeking outside help to manage the additional expenses. “Our problem is we get no money from the state [for the homeless students], and beyond that we don't have a lot of space,” Chelmsford, Mass., Superintendent Donald R. Yeoman told the Boston Globe. Budgets are set and teachers are hired by the beginning of the school year, making unexpected students who may need special services hard to handle financially.

Federal law mandates that homeless children be allowed to attend the school they went to before becoming homeless, or to attend a school in the area where they presently live. Schools must also waive fees and offer transportation for these children.

The McKinney-Vento Act Homeless Education Program and the No Child Left Behind Act help provide some of the resources needed to teach homeless students.

Reference: National Coalition for the Homeless

The National Coalition for the Homeless is a network of people who have experienced homelessness in the past, or who currently have nowhere to live. The group has dedicated itself to preventing and ending homelessness.

Source: The National Coalition for the Homeless

LAUSD PICKS UP TAB FOR OFFICIALS, SECURITY

Varsity Times Insider

by Eric Sondheimer - 02:49 PM PT, Sep 30 2008 in LA Times City Section blog

In a big boost to City Section schools, the Los Angeles Unified School District has set aside $2.4 million to start reimbursing schools for expenses for officials and security at sporting events.

Student body funds took a hit several years ago when the district removed soda machines from schools, taking away thousands of dollars that helped pay for officials and security. Principals had sought assurances at the time that the district might help make up for the decrease in revenue.

The City Section knows how much each school has been paying for security and officials, so that is supposed to help prevent any attempt by a school to pad those figures now that the district is paying for the expenses.

[ TrackBack ]

CAL STATE APPLICANTS SHOULD HURRY

LA Times Homeroom Blog 29 Sept./Print Edition 30 Sept.

In another sign of the nation's economic woes, fall 2009 freshman are being urged to apply early to California State University.

The application window opens this Wednesday. Because of state budget shortfalls, the system will not be able to absorb as much growth in enrollment as usual, officials said Monday, so laggards risk losing out on the campuses of their choice.

Six of the most popular campuses -- Fullerton, Long Beach, Pomona, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Sonoma -- plan to quit taking applications on Nov. 30. The remaining 17 campuses will accept applications through March 1, but may close down certain programs or majors. A CSU website tracks which campuses are accepting applications and which majors are open or closed.

This is the second year in a row with tight deadlines; many CSU campuses previously took applications until September. Cal State is the largest four-year higher education institution in the country, with 450,000 students.

READING SHOULDN’T BE A NUMBERS GAME: Applying numerical ratings to books does nothing to help kids read better.

Opinion by Regina Powers | LA Times

September 30, 2008 -- School has started. I can tell because frazzled parents drag their embarrassed children up to the reference desk at my library to ask, "Where are the fifth-grade books? We need a 5.6 level that's worth at least 7 points."

I avoid frustrating both parties with an explanation of how the Dewey decimal system works, and ask the child, "What do you like to read?" The response from both adult and child is all too often a blank expression.

Although I am elated that many families are visiting my public library more frequently because schools send them, I am disturbed at how infrequently parents and teachers are allowing young readers to choose what to read.

During the summer, children were excited about reading because, freed from school requirements, they decided what to read. Being able to choose their favorite author, genre or topic seemed to empower them to read more. Now with school back in session, finding a book again involves navigating through a labyrinth of point values and reading levels.

How did it come to this?

More than 50 years ago, educators nationwide created complicated mathematical formulas to identify a text's reading level. Some of these formulas were originally used to develop science textbooks that could be more easily understood by young students. Today, there are more than 200 readability formulas. Computers make using these formulas convenient for schools to apply them to literature. But mathematical readability formulas are still limited to merely counting the number of words and syllables. They are not advanced enough to measure language complexity or content.

In 2001, California started assigning reading levels to every public school student, grades 2 to 11. The state matches results from the annual Stanford 9 test to the Lexile Reading Framework and assigns each child a California Reading List number. Some schools also purchase optional programs such as Accelerated Reader and Reading Counts. The idea is to assist parents and students in selecting books tailored to match the level of each student.

However, these programs and their measurements are restrictive and confusing. For example, the California Reading List book selections, each given a Lexile number, are mostly older titles that are no longer in print.

Another problem is that the programs assign different numbers to the same book. "The Magician's Nephew" from the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, for example, is a 790 Lexile level, a 5.6 Reading Counts level and a 5.4 Accelerated Reader level. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the next book in the series, is listed as 940 Lexile, 6.1 Reading Counts and 5.7 AR. The guidelines could prohibit a child who enjoyed the first novel from reading its sequel because of the conflicting reading levels.

If this weren't complicated enough, the optional reading programs award incentive points for reading and successfully completing a book's corresponding electronic quiz. And because schools have spent a lot of money on these programs, teachers often push students to participate. The most damaging consequence of this practice is when teachers require all students to earn a certain number of points as part of their reading grade. This increasingly ubiquitous approach results in students reading a book based solely on the number of points its quiz is worth.

Reading is supposed to be a pleasurable habit. California's reading scores have remained flat since 1971. Research verifies that comprehension and reading test scores improve when students simply read more. So let's encourage reading by allowing kids to choose what to read, unimpeded by the pressure of points, levels and quizzes.

  • Regina Powers is a teacher and children's librarian in Orange County.

DWP’s Greatest Ripoff/The $equel: LAUSD TO PAY DWP MILLIONS MORE AS DISCOUNT ENDS + a blast from the past

By Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff Writer | LA Daily News

Sept 30, 2008 - Los Angeles schools will pay as much as $3 million more a year for electricity starting Wednesday when a long-standing agreement for reduced power rates expires.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials said they've tried to persuade the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to continue the 5 percent discount on electricity, but the utility has said no.

"At a time when the ratepayers of Los Angeles are subject to a rate increase, to give a straight, arbitrary 5 percent reduction is not the desirable way to go," said DWP General Manager H. David Nahai.

Nahai said the utility is willing to provide incentives for solar and energy efficiency so the district can lower its electricity costs.

But LAUSD board member Tamar Galatzan said the utility should be willing to cut a deal with the school district. "We're a huge customer and most businesses give huge customers a discount and incentives," she said. "In addition to the budget hit from Sacramento, that's another unexpected expense that the district is going to have to figure out a way to manage."

The DWP has given the LAUSD and about 30 other large customers a 5 percent discount for the past 10 years. The contract with the LAUSD expires today.

The contract was controversial because it prohibited the LAUSD from generating its own power by installing solar panels. That has frustrated environmentalists and some school officials who saw an opportunity to generate clean power from school roofs.

Now, the district has a major school-construction program and a plan to install solar photovoltaic panels on school facilities to generate as much as 50 megawatts of power by 2012.

LAUSD officials said they had hoped the DWP would be willing to make a deal - continue the electricity discount and offer more incentives for solar - in order to help the utility meet its goal of generating 20 percent of its power from renewable, green sources by 2010.

"We're offering something of value to DWP that no other customer can offer," said Randy Britt, director of sustainability initiatives at the district. "We're offering them the initiative to install megawatts of solar in their service territory, which would go through to renewable service standard." The agencies are to meet today.

 

 

Gentle readers: Please read the above through the lens of the following, a gentle reminder for Daily News reporter Cavanaugh, DWP General Manager Nahai and the taxpayers and ratepayers of Los Angeles as to all the good faith and generosity shown in the past to LAUSD by DWP — “ripping off” (the attorney general’s words, not mine!)  the District – and by extension the schoolchildren - of $900,000 on their water bill and $95 million on their power.

Bear also in mind that LAUSD and DWP are entities of Los Angeles City government, created by the Los Angeles City Charter.

The question becomes what rates does DWP charge other city entities like LAPD, Rec & Parks and City Hall itself? – smf

DWP'S GREATEST RIP-OFF: UTILITY ORDERED TO REFUND $222 MILLION TO LAUSD, OTHER ENTITIES.

 

by KERRY CAVANAUGH  Staff Writer | LA Daily News


Jun 13, 2007 - The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power overcharged the school district, county and other government agencies for more than a decade and now must return more than $220 million, a judge has ruled.

Six government entities sued in 2000, saying that under state law the DWP can only charge them for the cost of producing the electricity they use -- less than what the utility had billed them.

Among their concerns was that the DWP was overcharging them and using the funds to essentially subsidize the city budget through an annual transfer that this year totals $185 million.

In his ruling Monday, San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge John P. Wade agreed that the DWP ignored state law and he ordered the utility to refund $222 million in overcharges from 1997 through 2006.

"Basically (the DWP) ripped off a number of agencies," said California Attorney General Jerry Brown. "It was a political move. This way the City Council gets more money to spend on their special projects. This takes money away from the schools, the colleges, the Highway Patrol."

Brown's office joined the lawsuit on behalf of state agencies in Los Angeles that were overcharged $31 million by the DWP.

The ruling is a significant loss for the DWP -- and potentially Los Angeles ratepayers -- if the utility has to dip into its savings to repay the public agencies named in the judgment.

But DWP officials said they will appeal, and they disputed the judge's ruling and assertions that the utility was bilking customers.

"We are a public agency. We're a municipal utility. We're not a profit- making entity," said Board of Water and Power Commission President H. David Nahai, adding that the DWP's rates are among the lowest in the state.

"The suggestion that we were somehow engaging in profiteering is offensive."

Nahai called the ruling preliminary.

"Immediately, we don't think it will have an impact," he said. "If the courts ultimately determine that DWP has to pay these amounts, we'll abide by the courts' decision."

The $222 million would be a one-time payment. Last year former Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, passed legislation that allows the DWP to maintain its current rates for public-agency customers.

If the decision is upheld, the payment could have a one-time effect on the DWP's annual cash transfer to the city's general fund.

"Because this affects a proprietary agency, any effects on the city budget are limited," said Thomas Saenz, counsel to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Still, attorney Eric Havian, who represented the six agencies that sued the DWP, said the judge's ruling appears to limit how much the utility can charge its public customers going forward.

In particular, the judge prohibited the DWP from charging its public-agency customers for the power revenue transfer to the city's general fund, an annual cash hand-over worth $185 million this year.

Public-agency customers had complained that the DWP ratepayers are essentially being taxed and subsidizing city government through the transfer.

"You're not allowed to charge more for electricity and then turn around and use it for parks and the city budget. The law requires you to be very straightforward about that," Havian said.

Los Angeles Unified School District board member David Tokofsky has battled the city over the DWP reimbursement and said Tuesday he was pleased with the ruling.

"I hope that City Hall will not pursue its fantasies of appealing, and instead dedicate these resources immediately to the families and children of LAUSD, the county, UCLA, and the other educational and public agencies victorious in this litigation," he said.

Last year, the DWP tentatively agreed to pay $900,000 to the LAUSD under a proposed settlement over a similar lawsuit related to water rates.

LAUSD General Counsel Kevin Reed said he hoped the two agencies could settle again rather than pursue an appeal.

"But once we get this money, it's general fund money. It goes straight to the classroom," he said.


Ruling breakdown
Under the ruling, the DWP will have to pay roughly:

$95 million to Los Angeles Unified School District
$45 million to Los Angeles County
$39 million to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
$31 million to California state agencies
$8 million to the Los Angeles Community College District and
$5 million to the University of California, Los Angeles.

article: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/_/print/PrintArticle.aspx?id=164920033

SIDE BY SIDE: McCain & Obama 0n Education

from the campaign websites…

McCain on Education


from: http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/19ce50b5-daa8-4795-b92d-92bd0d985bca.htm

Education

Excellence, Choice, and Competition
in American Education

John McCain believes American education must be worthy of the promise we make to our children and ourselves. He understands that we are a nation committed to equal opportunity, and there is no equal opportunity without equal access to excellent education.

Public education should be defined as one in which our public support for a child's education follows that child into the school the parent chooses. The school is charged with the responsibility of educating the child, and must have the resources and management authority to deliver on that responsibility. They must also report to the parents and the public on their progress.

The deplorable status of preparation for our children, particularly in comparison with the rest of the industrialized world, does not allow us the luxury of eliminating options in our educational repertoire. John McCain will fight for the ability of all students to have access to all schools of demonstrated excellence, including their own homes.

No Child Left Behind has focused our attention on the realities of how students perform against a common standard. John McCain believes that we can no longer accept low standards for some students and high standards for others. In this age of honest reporting, we finally see what is happening to students who were previously invisible. While that is progress all its own, it compels us to seek and find solutions to the dismal facts before us.

John McCain believes our schools can and should compete to be the most innovative, flexible and student-centered - not safe havens for the uninspired and unaccountable. He believes we should let them compete for the most effective, character-building teachers, hire them, and reward them.

If a school will not change, the students should be able to change schools. John McCain believes parents should be empowered with school choice to send their children to the school that can best educate them just as many members of Congress do with their own children. He finds it beyond hypocritical that many of those who would refuse to allow public school parents to choose their child's school would never agree to force their own children into a school that did not work or was unsafe. They can make another choice. John McCain believes that is a fundamental and essential right we should honor for all parents.

As president, John McCain will pursue reforms that address the underlying cultural problems in our education system - a system that still seeks to avoid genuine accountability and responsibility for producing well-educated children.

John McCain will place parents and children at the center of the education process, empowering parents by greatly expanding the ability of parents to choose among schools for their children. He believes all federal financial support must be predicated on providing parents the ability to move their children, and the dollars associated with them, from failing school.

  • Click here to read more about John McCain's education policies.
  • Click here to learn more about John McCain's policies on higher education.
  • For Immediate Release
    July 16, 2008
    Contact: Press Office

    703-650-5550

    John McCain's Plan for Strengthening America's Schools

    Today, John McCain Outlined His Vision For Strengthening Education To Ensure Opportunity For Every American.  John McCain's education policy removes needless bureaucracy, empowers parents, teachers and principals and ensures that every child has the opportunity to gain from a quality education.

    John McCain's Education Principles:

    John McCain Will Enact Meaningful Reform In Education. Now is the time to demand real, new reform earned through discipline, grinding work, tough choices and leadership. John McCain has dedicated his career in public service to the hard and sometimes unpopular work of achieving meaningful reform.
    The Education System Must Provide For Equality Of Choice. Too many of our children are trapped by geography and by economics in failing schools.
    We Must Empower Parents. Involved and empowered parents and excellent teachers are the two greatest determining factors in a child's education. If we are to succeed, we must empower committed parents with critical knowledge about their child's performance, and empower them with real and meaningful choices to act upon that knowledge.
    We Must Empower Teachers. If America is to truly reform public education and make good on the promise of individual freedom and independence through knowledge, we must ensure that every child has the opportunity to be inspired and motivated to achieve their potential by a strong classroom leader.
    John McCain's Education Policy:
    John McCain Will Build On The Lessons Of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). There should be an emphasis on standards and accountability. However, our goal cannot be group averages. Instead, our focus should be to inspire every child to strive to reach his or her potential. While NCLB has been invaluable in providing a clear picture of which schools and students are struggling, it is only the beginning of education reform.
    John McCain Will Provide Effective Education Leadership. John McCain is committed to high standards and accountability, but he is also committed to providing the resources needed to succeed. He believes we should invest in people, parents and reward achievement.
    John McCain Will Work To Ensure That Our Children Have Quality Teachers. The single biggest challenge in turning around a failing school is getting quality teachers into that school. To overcome this challenge, John McCain will:
    Encourage Alternative Certification Methods That Open The Door For Highly Motivated Teachers To Enter The Field. John McCain will devote five percent of Title II funding to states to recruit teachers who graduate in the top 25 percent of their class or who participate in an alternative teacher recruitment program such as Teach for America, the New York City Teaching Fellowship Program, the New Teacher Project, or excellent university initiatives.
    Provide Bonuses For Teachers Who Locate In Underperforming Schools And Demonstrate Strong Leadership As Measured By Student Improvement. John McCain will devote 60 percent of Title II funding for incentive bonuses for high performing teachers to locate in the most challenging educational settings, for teachers to teach subjects like math and science, and for teachers who demonstrate student improvement. Payments will be made directly to teachers. Funds should also be devoted to provide performance bonuses to teachers who raise student achievement and enhance the school-wide learning environment. Principals may also consider other issues in addition to test scores such as peer evaluations, student subgroup improvements, or being removed from the state's "in need of improvement" list.
    Provide Funding For Needed Professional Teacher Development. Where federal funds are involved, teacher development money should be used to enhance the ability of teachers to perform in today's technology driven environment. We need to provide teachers with high quality professional development opportunities with a primary focus on instructional strategies that address the academic needs of their students. The first 35 percent of Title II funding would be directed to the school level so principals and teachers could focus these resources on the specific needs of their schools.
    John McCain Believes We Must Empower School Principals With Greater Control Over Spending. Funding cannot be effectively apportioned in Washington, but it shouldn't be a state-level official or district bureaucrat either. The money must be controlled by the leader we hold accountable: the school principal with a single criterion to raise student achievement.
    John McCain Will Make Real The Promise Of NCLB By Giving Parents Greater Choice. Choice is the best way to protect children against a failing bureaucracy. But parents must have more control over the money.
    John McCain Will Expand The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. In our nation's capital, we have seen the dramatic benefits of giving parents control of money and choices. The Opportunity Scholarship program serves more than 1,900 students from families with an average income of $23,000 a year. More than 7,000 more families have applied for that program. The budget for the Opportunity Scholarships is currently $13 million. John McCain believes that this extremely successful program should expand to at least $20 million benefiting nearly a thousand more families.
    John McCain Will Ensure Children Struggling To Meet State Standards Will Have Immediate Access To High Quality Tutoring Programs. Local school districts can certify education service providers but providers can also bypass the local bureaucracy and receive direct federal certification. Education service providers can then market directly to parents. Title I money will be directed straight to the provider.
    John McCain Supports Expanding Virtual Learning By Reforming The "Enhancing Education Through Technology Program." John McCain will target $500 million in current federal funds to build new virtual schools and support the development of online course offerings for students. These courses may be for regular coursework, for enhancement, or for dual enrollment into college.
    John McCain Will Allocate $250 Million Through A Competitive Grant Program To Support States That Commit To Expanding Online Education Opportunities. States can use these funds to build virtual math and science academies to help expand the availability of AP Math, Science, and Computer Sciences courses, online tutoring support for students in traditional schools, and foreign language courses.
    John McCain Will Offer $250 Million For Digital Passport Scholarships To Help Students Pay For Online Tutors Or Enroll In Virtual Schools. Low-income students will be eligible to receive up to $4,000 to enroll in an online course, SAT/ACT prep course, credit recovery or tutoring services offered by a virtual provider. Providers could range from other public schools, virtual charter schools, home school parents utilizing virtual schooling resources or district or state sponsored virtual schools. The Department of Education would competitively award the funds to a national scholarship administrator who would manage the student applications, monitoring, and evaluation of providers.

    ###

    Obama on Education

    from: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/

    A World class education

    “I don't want to send another generation of American children to failing schools. I don't want that future for my daughters. I don't want that future for your sons. I do not want that future for America.”

    — Barack Obama, Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Des Moines, Iowa, November 10, 2007

    At a Glance

    Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

    Watch Videos

    The Problem

    No Child Left Behind Left the Money Behind: The goal of the law was the right one, but unfulfilled funding promises, inadequate implementation by the Education Department and shortcomings in the design of the law itself have limited its effectiveness and undercut its support. As a result, the law has failed to provide high-quality teachers in every classroom and failed to adequately support and pay those teachers.

    Teacher Retention is a Problem: Thirty percent of new teachers leave within their first five years in the profession.

    Soaring College Costs: College costs have grown nearly 40 percent in the past five years. The average graduate leaves college with over $19,000 in debt. And between 2001 and 2010, 2 million academically qualified students will not go to college because they cannot afford it. Finally, our complicated maze of tax credits and applications leaves too many students unaware of financial aid available to them.

    Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Plan
    Early Childhood Education
    • Zero to Five Plan: The Obama-Biden comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan will provide critical support to young children and their parents. Unlike other early childhood education plans, the Obama-Biden plan places key emphasis at early care and education for infants, which is essential for children to be ready to enter kindergarten. Obama and Biden will create Early Learning Challenge Grants to promote state "zero to five" efforts and help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school.
    • Expand Early Head Start and Head Start: Obama and Biden will quadruple Early Head Start, increase Head Start funding and improve quality for both.

    Affordable, High-Quality Child Care: Obama and Biden will also provide affordable and high-quality child care to ease the burden on working families.

    K-12
    • Reform No Child Left Behind: Obama and Biden will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama and Biden believe teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama and Biden will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.
    • Support High-Quality Schools and Close Low-Performing Charter Schools: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will double funding for the Federal Charter School Program to support the creation of more successful charter schools. An Obama-Biden administration will provide this expanded charter school funding only to states that improve accountability for charter schools, allow for interventions in struggling charter schools and have a clear process for closing down chronically underperforming charter schools. An Obama-Biden administration will also prioritize supporting states that help the most successful charter schools to expand to serve more students.
    • Make Math and Science Education a National Priority: Obama and Biden will recruit math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession and will support efforts to help these teachers learn from professionals in the field. They will also work to ensure that all children have access to a strong science curriculum at all grade levels.
    • Address the Dropout Crisis: Obama and Biden will address the dropout crisis by passing his legislation to provide funding to school districts to invest in intervention strategies in middle school - strategies such as personal academic plans, teaching teams, parent involvement, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction, and extended learning time.
    • Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Obama and Biden will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children.
    • Support College Outreach Programs: Obama and Biden support outreach programs like GEAR UP, TRIO and Upward Bound to encourage more young people from low-income families to consider and prepare for college.
    • Support College Credit Initiatives: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will create a national "Make College A Reality" initiative that has a bold goal to increase students taking AP or college-level classes nationwide 50 percent by 2016, and will build on Obama's bipartisan proposal in the U.S. Senate to provide grants for students seeking college level credit at community colleges if their school does not provide those resources.
    • Support English Language Learners: Obama and Biden support transitional bilingual education and will help Limited English Proficient students get ahead by holding schools accountable for making sure these students complete school.
    Recruit, Prepare, Retain, and Reward America's Teachers
    • Recruit Teachers: Obama and Biden will create new Teacher Service Scholarships that will cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality alternative programs for mid-career recruits in exchange for teaching for at least four years in a high-need field or location.
    • Prepare Teachers: Obama and Biden will require all schools of education to be accredited. Obama and Biden will also create a voluntary national performance assessment so we can be sure that every new educator is trained and ready to walk into the classroom and start teaching effectively. Obama and Biden will also create Teacher Residency Programs that will supply 30,000 exceptionally well-prepared recruits to high-need schools.
    • Retain Teachers: To support our teachers, the Obama-Biden plan will expand mentoring programs that pair experienced teachers with new recruits. They will also provide incentives to give teachers paid common planning time so they can collaborate to share best practices.
    • Reward Teachers: Obama and Biden will promote new and innovative ways to increase teacher pay that are developed with teachers, not imposed on them. Districts will be able to design programs that reward accomplished educators who serve as a mentor to new teachers with a salary increase. Districts can reward teachers who work in underserved places like rural areas and inner cities. And if teachers consistently excel in the classroom, that work can be valued and rewarded as well.
    Higher Education
    • Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama and Biden will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service.
    • Simplify the Application Process for Financial Aid: Obama and Biden will streamline the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used, and eliminating the need for a separate application.
    Barack Obama's Record

    Record of Advocacy: Obama has been a leader on educational issues throughout his career. In the Illinois State Senate, Obama was a leader on early childhood education, helping create the state's Early Learning Council. In the U.S. Senate, Obama has been a leader in working to make college more affordable. His very first bill sought to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,100. As a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, Obama helped pass legislation to achieve that goal in the recent improvements to the Higher Education Act. Obama has also introduced legislation to create Teacher Residency Programs and to increase federal support for summer learning opportunities.

    For More Information about Barack's Plan

    Read the Pre-K to 12 Plan
    Read the College Affordability Plan
    Read the Education Reform Plan
    Speech on Pre-K to 12 Education
    Speech on College Affordability

    Monday, September 29, 2008

    U.S. EDUCATION BUDGET ROILED BY FINANCIAL CRISIS

    Education Week

    By Alyson Klein | Education Week

    September 29, 2008 -- The result of the presidential election will likely help determine how much money education programs receive in the 2009 federal fiscal year, which begins this week. But a multi-billion-dollar federal plan to assist the financial markets may leave the next president with very little room for major increases for K-12 schools, perhaps for the foreseeable future.

    Congress late last week approved a bill extending funding for most education programs and other parts of the federal budget at fiscal 2008 levels through March 6, when the new administration will have been in office for more than a month.

    If lawmakers agreed on a fiscal 2009 appropriations bill financing the Department of Education by March 6, it would be up to the new president to sign it.

    But the new administration of either John McCain or Barack Obama may not have much leeway to increase spending on education or any other federal program significantly. Congress was grappling with an estimated $700 billion assistance plan for the financial sector that left some advocates worried that such an enormous unplanned expenditure could squeeze domestic spending for a long time.

    “This bailout is basically going to suck the air out of education funding for years to come,” unless there is a major commitment to boosting education spending on the part of the next president, said Edward R. Kealy, the executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, a Washington lobbying coalition. Education advocates will have to make the case that investing in schools is necessary to shore up the economy over the long haul, he said.

    Presidential Politics

    Even as Sept. 30, the end of the 2008 fiscal year, drew near, lawmakers in both chambers had not finished any fiscal 2009 appropriations bills for education. In recent years, continuing resolutions have become common so that federal programs will receive funding even as Congress continues to craft appropriations bills well after the start of the new federal budget year.

    Late Appropriations

    The federal fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 of the previous calendar year. So this Wednesday marks the beginning of the 2009 fiscal year. But in recent years, Congress has rarely passed appropriations bills, including the education spending measure, on time. During the Bush administration, every education spending bill has been late.

    SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education

    The two major presidential candidates, meanwhile, have very different rhetoric on education spending.

    Sen. McCain, of Arizona, the Republican nominee, has said he would like to freeze domestic discretionary spending until his administration could conduct a top-to-bottom review of all federal programs.

    Sen. Obama, of Illinois, the Democratic candidate, has argued that the No Child Left Behind Act, the main federal K-12 education law, has been underfunded. And he’s proposed an additional $18 billion a year in new spending on preschool and K-12 programs.

    But Sen. Obama’s proposals were released months ago, before the financial crisis on Wall Street intensified and Congress began consideration of a plan for bolstering the troubled credit markets with a government purchase of bad debt.

    Last week, Sen. Obama told reporters that it would “be irresponsible of me to say I am not going to take into account what things look like should I take office,” according to a Federal News Service transcript of Sept. 23 remarks the candidate made to reporters in Clearwater, Fla.

    In the Sept. 26 debate between the candidates, Sen. Obama said he would work to ensure some of his education proposals were funded.

    “We’ve got to make sure that we’re competing in education,” he said, when asked whether he would have to change his priorities to reflect the cost of the bailout.

    Sen. Obama specifically mentioned mathematics and science education and college affordability as the types of programs that should not be sacrificed.

    When asked the same question during the Sept. 26 debate about the effect of the bailout on his spending priorities, Sen. McCain reiterated his call for “a spending freeze on everything but defense, veteran affairs, and entitlement programs.”

    Bailout’s Effect on Congress

    Putting forth a giant outlay to ease the financial turmoil may make lawmakers wary about approving even modest increases to education and other programs, analysts said.

    “There will be forces that say, ‘Gosh, we’ve got this really big deficit this year; we can’t afford to spending on domestic programs,’ ” said James R. Horney, the director of federal fiscal policy at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a research and advocacy organization in Washington.

    On the other hand, he added, it may be hard for some lawmakers to say no to increases for schools after pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the financial sector. Imagining what advocates might ask, Mr. Horney said: “ ‘How dare you not be able to invest a measly [few] billion in these domestic programs that help real people, not Wall Street?’ ”

    Supporters of a financial-rescue plan have argued, however, that the federal government may eventually recoup a big portion of whatever it spent by reselling the mortgage-related securities whose uncertain worth has roiled the credit markets.

    ‘Reading First’ Funding?

    The stopgap funding measure would include some additional education spending, including $2.5 billion more for Pell Grants to head off a possible reduction in grant awards in the middle of the academic year.

    The extension bill also includes funding for the $393 million Reading First program, the same level as for fiscal year 2008. The program which was slated for zero funding in fiscal 2009 appropriations bills approved by spending panels in both the House and the Senate over the summer. ("'Reading First' Funds Headed for Extinction," July 16, 2008.)

    But the stopgap bill doesn’t mean federal funding of the program will be continued. The money would not be allocated to school districts until July 1. If Congress decides to eliminate the program when it returns to the education spending bills in March, schools won’t receive any new Reading First money.

    The extension “is essentially a moot point,” said Richard Long, the director of government relations for the Newark, Del.-based International Reading Association.

    Created as part of NCLB, which became law in January 2002, the Reading First program was financed at about $1 billion annually until fiscal 2008. Congress slashed the funding to $393 million after a series of reports by the Education Department’s inspector general suggested that conflicts of interest had occurred among officials and contractors who helped implement the program in its early years.

    Some education lobbyists are worried that, no matter who is elected president, the next Congress might simply pass a measure extending the fiscal 2008 funding levels for the Education Department and other federal programs for the remainder of fiscal 2009.

    If such a yearlong extension is approved, without any changes to the Reading First program, funding for that program may continue through fiscal 2009, a Democratic Senate aide said.

    A yearlong extension would likely be the quickest way for the new president and Congress to wrap up the fiscal 2009 appropriations process and begin working on the 2010 budget. The new president will release a budget proposal shortly after taking office in January.

    Extending current funding for education programs would amount to a cut, said Mr. Kealy of the Committee for Education Funding, since rising enrollment and inflation mean less money per student.

    “We could very well wind up empty-handed and waiting for own bailout” in fiscal 2010, he said.

    Associate Editor David J. Hoff contributed to this report.

    LAUSD $ALARIES: PART ONE OF A TWO-PART SERIES - LAUSD administration swells 20 percent from 2001 to 2007

    By Beth Barrett, Staff Writer| LA Daily News

    Article Last Updated: 09/29/2008 11:19:53 AM PDT


    On Sunday the Daily News published a database containing the names, job descriptions and salaries of every LAUSD employee. 4LAKids supports Openness, Oversight, Accountability and Sunshine - but abhors this violation of employee privacy. Attorneys, media ethicists and hand-wringing editorial boards have agonized over this and have bravely done the wrong thing because it was legal …and because it might sell papers+advertising.
    The DN in the past has led a charge against supposedly overcompensated District consultants and contractors. Those workers remain beyond the curtain - their contracts and remuneration undisclosed.
    The public has not been served. There is no upside to the teachers at a school knowing what all the other teachers make in salary. There is no upside to the parents at a school knowing which teacher makes more or less money than their child's teacher. This information could've been shared without naming names. I am human: of course I have looked up the names of those I consider to be the most incompetent bureaucrats in LAUSD to see what the going rate for supreme incompetence is these days. And it is a sad number compared to what excellence and diligence pays …or the going rate for promise. Life is not fair; I already knew that.
    If I subscribed to the DN (I don't) I'd cancel my subscription.
    Make you feelings known: Send your responses to DN Executive Editor Carolina Garcia (salary unknown) feedback@dailynews.com or call 818-713-3719
    - smf


    SEARCH: LAUSD Salaries Database
  • PART 1 - LAUSD administration swells 20 percent from 2001 to 2007
  • PART 2 - Despite cutbacks, students thrive at Cleveland High in Reseda
  • Beaudry building in downtown L.A. a pricey place for LAUSD personnel
  • How does the LAUSD compare on salaries?
  • UTLA members threatening a strike
  • Gathering the information on LAUSD salary review was a step-by-step process
  • Fairness played a key role in publishing LAUSD salaries
    EDITORIAL: Administrative bloat
  • VIDEO: Cleveland High secures accreditation

     

    On the edge of downtown Los Angeles, overlooking the 110 Freeway, stands a 29-story office building that boasts many of the trappings of a modern corporate headquarters: a cafeteria with flat-screen TVs, a state-of-the-art media production center, an on-site dry-cleaning service.

    The tower is the headquarters of the Los Angeles Unified School District - home to more than 3,400 employees. They are the core of a massive bureaucracy that has surged in recent years even as the number of students and teachers has dropped.

    And 3,200 more administrators and support staff are scattered throughout the city, as top officials acknowledge that the number of highly paid managers has swollen beyond what is needed to run the nation's second-largest school district.

    "There are assistants to assistants," says Senior Deputy Superintendent Ramon Cortines, who was hired in May to oversee the district's day-to-day operations.

    Managing almost 900 schools and more than 650,000 students is a huge task. But a Daily News review of salaries and staffing shows LAUSD's bureaucracy ballooned by nearly 20 percent from 2001 to 2007. Over the same period, 500 teaching positions were cut and enrollment dropped by 6 percent.

    The district has approximately 4,000 administrators, managers and other nonschool-based employees - not including clerks and office workers - whose average annual salary is about $95,000. About 2,400 administrators are among the 3,478 LAUSD employees who earn more than $100,000 annually.

    Meanwhile, the average salary for an LAUSD teacher is $63,000. And the average household income in Los Angeles County is less than $73,000.

    The Daily News obtained the LAUSD salaries database through the California Public Records Act. The database - searchable by name, job title and salary range - is posted at dailynews.com.

    "(The bureaucracy) grows whether it's fat or lean times," said United Teachers Los Angeles union leader A.J. Duffy, a longtime critic of the district's administrative staffing.

    "It's indicative of an upper echelon, of a leadership cadre that doesn't want to use its authority to clean house."

    District and union officials said some of the bureaucratic buildup may have come at the expense of teachers' compensation even as LAUSD continues to lag in statewide test scores and grapples with a 33.6 percent dropout rate that is far higher than the statewide average of 24.2 percent.

    Now, LAUSD is bracing for more than $400 million in state budget cuts that officials say will affect education programs.

    Superintendent David Brewer III and Cortines said they are continuing to reduce the bureaucracy in the face of the looming budget cuts and as the district seeks voter approval for a new $7 billion school construction bond in November.

    "We will have a more decentralized and leaner headquarters," said Brewer, adding that most of the downsizing will come through attrition. But the superintendent said he and Cortines are in fundamental agreement about the need for cuts.

    "I'm going to eliminate (administrative jobs), I'd say, by hundreds for next year out of necessity," said Cortines, "but also because I believe ... they should be in the (schools) and local districts."

    The growth of LAUSD's bureaucracy is evident in the size of the union that represents district administrators. It has seen its membership grow from about 2,100 to 2,600 members in the past several years.

    The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles has seen its membership grow.

    Michael O'Sullivan, president of the administrators union, said the increase is due to a "proliferation" of extra programs over the past decade to support schools and students. Among the additions: administrative staffing for a special-education consent decree, supervisors for Beyond the Bell after-school academic programs, instructional coaches, and backup for small learning communities.

    "There was nothing added that didn't have a positive result," he said. O'Sullivan added that six-figure salaries for many administrators reflect their supervisory responsibilities, as well as more and longer work days.

    Like teachers represented by UTLA, administrators received a 6 percent pay hike retroactive to July 2006, under a contract that ends in June.

    Brewer said he has trimmed about 300 people from the bureaucracy over the past two years as student test scores have risen - a sign that principals and teachers no longer need the tight central controls they once did.

    "My mantra is, 'Results will set you free.' We're starting to give more authority and flexibility to the school sites as they achieve," said Brewer, who became superintendent in November 2006.

    Board President Monica Garcia said the cuts made so far have not led to real reform, and that an entirely new "model" is needed that combines reductions at Beaudry with a substantive shift in resources and responsibility to schools.

    "It's not just changing little pieces around, but we have to figure out how to reinvent public education," Garcia said. "We have to move dollars and authority to school sites and give decision-making to them versus downtown."

    Last year, officials estimate that 335 nonschool-based employees left the district, were reclassified or were moved into schools. They won't have a true count of who remains for a couple of months.

    San Fernando Valley board member Tamar Galatzan said getting accurate staffing and budget numbers from the district has been difficult, but she said there is little question the bureaucracy - which includes eight local district offices - is too large.

    "I truly believe the number of people who work in Beaudry and in the local districts is too big and needs to be cut," Galatzan said. "There might be waste at a school, but there are definitely people downtown and in local districts that are doing jobs that aren't as important as teaching our kids and keeping them safe."

    The district hopes to save more than $60 million this year, approximately $50 million of it in salaries. But there is a lag between cutting positions and seeing the results because of the state Education Code's notification requirements for nonteaching workers who have "bumping rights" to displace other workers. And administrators holding teaching certificates generally are reassigned at the end of a school year.

    Cortines, a former LAUSD superintendent, said he intends to transfer more administrators into schools, but said it needs to be done carefully.

    "You could remove one of those compliance people, and I might lose millions of dollars from the federal or state government because we haven't gotten certain reports in," he said.

    LAUSD's bureaucratic expansion accelerated under former Superintendent Roy Romer in 2001 as the 928,000-square-foot Beaudry Building was purchased and filled despite enrollment that was already beginning to stall. During Romer's tenure, nonschool-based employees increased by 18 percent, district records show.

    Romer, now chairman of Strong American Schools, a nonprofit education-reform organization based in Washington, D.C., said strengthening the supervisorial ranks was critical to improving student performance.

    "The central office is easy to criticize," Romer said. "But look at the changes that would not have occurred without a driving strategy that was uniformly applied."

    Romer said at times he reluctantly steered resources from classrooms - for example, to expand the district's police force and to increase the inspector general's staff to meet community demands.

    But he said more managers also were necessary for the district's $19 billion school building program and a computer system to track student performance.

    Still, Cortines maintains that downtown employees have sometimes failed in their duties.

    The deputy superintendent said he has discovered instances in which incompetent top managers at Beaudry were moved into paper-pushing jobs at the same salary, while others were hired to do their jobs - effectively doubling the district's costs.

    Cortines has begun a review of staffing and salaries, but admitted he is hampered by incomplete personnel files.

    "I'm dealing with situations that, on the face of it, I can't believe that person is on the job," he said. "But there is no data or information at all that says the person is outstanding, or mediocre or whatever."

    Cortines said he also discovered that many employees downtown with extensive educational expertise believed they were required to stay in their offices rather than spend part of their time training teachers in schools. Included are about two dozen math, literacy and science experts, making $85,000 to $109,000. They have been ordered into schools, along with other instructional employees who have offices downtown.

    But Cortines said he is disappointed that the district's headquarters has become such an entrenched fortress.

    "Someone said to me, 'You don't know how many years I worked to get downtown.' And I said, Let me tell you, that's not where the work is.

    "The work is in the schools and in the classroom."

  • LAUSD $ALARIES: PART TWO OF A TWO-PART SERIES - Despite cutbacks, students thrive at Cleveland High in Reseda

    By George B. Sánchez, Staff Writer LA Daily News

    Article Last Updated: 09/28/2008 11:57:40 PM PDT


    On Sunday the Daily News published a database containing the names, job descriptions and salaries of every LAUSD employee. 4LAKids supports Openness, Oversight, Accountability and Sunshine - but abhors this violation of employee privacy. Attorneys, media ethicists and hand-wringing editorial boards have agonized over this and have bravely done the wrong thing because it was legal …and because it might sell papers+advertising.
    The DN in the past has led a charge against supposedly overcompensated District consultants and contractors. Those workers remain beyond the curtain - their contracts and remuneration undisclosed.
    The public has not been served. There is no upside to the teachers at a school knowing what all the other teachers make in salary. There is no upside to the parents at a school knowing which teacher makes more or less money than their child's teacher. This information could've been shared without naming names. I am human: of course I have looked up the names of those I consider to be the most incompetent bureaucrats in LAUSD to see what the going rate for supreme incompetence is these days. And it is a sad number compared to what excellence and diligence pays …or the going rate for promise. Life is not fair; I already knew that.
    If I subscribed to the DN (I don't) I'd cancel my subscription.
    Make you feelings known: Send your responses to DN Executive Editor Carolina Garcia (salary unknown) feedback@dailynews.com or call 818-713-3719
    - smf

    SEARCH: LAUSD Salaries Database

  • PART 1 - LAUSD administration swells 20 percent from 2001 to 2007
  • PART 2 - Despite cutbacks, students thrive at Cleveland High in Reseda
  • Beaudry building in downtown L.A. a pricey place for LAUSD personnel
  • How does the LAUSD compare on salaries?
  • UTLA members threatening a strike
  • Gathering the information on LAUSD salary review was a step-by-step process
  • Fairness played a key role in publishing LAUSD salaries
    EDITORIAL: Administrative bloat
  • VIDEO: Cleveland High secures accreditation

     

    RESEDA - Tucked away in a quiet neighborhood, Cleveland High officials take pride in the achievements of their 4,000 students. The school was recently accredited by the prestigious Western Association of Schools and Colleges. A banner tacked above the entrance reminds visitors this is a California distinguished school.

    The school's students, including more than 700 English-language learners, have consistently outpaced state and local averages on academic achievement scores. But even amid the gains, the school struggles with inadequate resources.

    There are a little more than 120 Cleveland High teachers - 1 for every 32 students. There are just nine full-time counselors - 1 for every 422 students who attend either the traditional high school or a separate magnet program.

    And the school recently lost its diploma project adviser, who worked to keep students from dropping out. Now the work is shared by a dean and an assistant principal, neither of whom can give it their full attention.

    "At the end of the day, what happens in the classroom will determine the direction this district is going," Principal Robert Marks said.

    "Teachers are probably the most important part of this whole equation," he said. "They're delivering instruction. They need to do it appropriately and they need the support to do it."

    A larger problem

    The struggles at Cleveland are a microcosm of those at the majority of Los Angeles Unified's network of nearly 900 schools. While every campus struggles to find sufficient resources, LAUSD's bureaucracy surged 20 percent from 2001 to 2007. At the same time, 500 teaching positions were cut and enrollment across the district has dropped to about 650,000 students.

    Schools across the district also are now bracing for more than $400 million in state budget cuts that officials acknowledge will affect classroom and education programs.

    Part of LAUSD's bureaucracy are eight local districts, each with its own headquarters and staff designed to serve as a bridge between the schools and LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. Local District 1 in Van Nuys, serving 106,000 students, includes Cleveland.

    "If it was a standalone district, local District 1 would be the fourth-largest in the state behind LAUSD, Long Beach and San Diego," said Kathy Rattay, a high school services director who works in the Van Nuys office.

    District 1 headquarters has 57 employees - more than half of whom earn at least $100,000 annually, according to a Daily News analysis. The majority of District 1 staff are mid-level managers who oversee everything from data analysis to parent outreach.

    By contrast, at Cleveland High just eight workers among the school's 221-person staff earn more than $100,000, according to the Daily News review.

    The Daily News obtained LAUSD's salary database through the California Public Records Act. The database - searchable by name, job title and salary range - is posted at www.dailynews.com.

    As is the case throughout LAUSD, teaching positions have been eliminated at Cleveland. The average class size at the high school and its magnet campus is now about 32 students, Marks said.

    There are exceptions. State law requires a limit of 20 students per teacher in ninth-grade English and math as well as 11th-grade English classes.

    But it doesn't always work out that way.

    "The main thing we would like is smaller classes because that's how you educate kids," said Ricky Kupferer, a 37-year LAUSD veteran and a site representative for the teachers union, who said her classes can have as many as 40 students.

    Some guidelines hinder

    Though Cleveland has a budget of $20 million, Marks has discretionary use of about $200,000. Even those funds have restrictions.

    Rattay said school budgets and staffing are initially determined by the number of students. Additional teachers and counselors are funded with money for class-size reduction initiatives, as well as specific funds for students from low-income households and schools with large minority populations.

    But Rattay said union contracts, funding requirements and district initiatives often hinder moving staff around to put more teachers into classrooms and reducing class sizes.

    "Even if schools were given those funds directly, they would still have to follow state and federal guidelines," said Rudy Ramirez, a fiscal services manager for local District 1.

    Marks said principals are no longer able to pull teachers out of class to serve as counselors, as was previously the case.

    "You can't do that anymore," he said. "It's not a funding issue with the principal at this school. It's a general, district-funding issue on what's allocated for counseling purposes."

    Despite struggling with resources, Cleveland's staff, teachers and students remain upbeat. Most teachers have been at the school for more than a decade.

    "When you have a supportive administration and supportive teachers, you don't want to leave," said Marshall Goldman, a science teacher who has been at Cleveland since 1978. "When the students do well, you don't want to leave."

    On a recent Friday afternoon, a group of seniors hanging around after school credited Cleveland teachers' persistence for their own success.

    "They are adamant that you do your work," Carly Veneracion, 16, said.

    "They care if you pass or fail," echoed Alex Rodgers, 17, a member of Cleveland's student council.

    Over his nearly 40-year career with LAUSD, Marks said he has seen some shifts away from centralized leadership, including moving staff out of local district offices and into schools.

    Marks said that plays a part in the successes at Cleveland, which has a literacy coach and a math coach who previously had been based at the local district office.

    "Putting these coaches inside the schools has brought about an increase, in many ways, with our test scores," Marks said.

    "They're working directly with the teachers to develop model lessons which address the standards, which students ultimately need to learn."

    Marks advocates even more decentralization, noting he'd also like to have a history or social studies coach.

    Cleveland's part-time math coach, who also teaches in the magnet school, earns more than $102,000 as a teacher and an additional $12,640 as an academic coach. The school's literacy coach earns slightly less than $80,000.

    Teacher salaries are largely determined by experience, level of education and contract agreements between the district and the teachers union.

    `Coaches' criticized

    But education coaches, who help teachers with student assessment, test score analysis and classroom planning, are not without their critics.

    "Most of us don't think they do much," said Kupferer, who has worked at Cleveland for the past 15 years. "The idea that they would spend so much money on outside-the-classroom teachers doesn't make much sense to us."

    Officials, however, contend the coaches are just one of many layers in the district that teachers may not understand.

    "The classroom teacher might see the immediate connection with an English coach, but might not realize that somebody supervises the coach, somebody trains the coach, somebody brings materials to the coach," said Rattay, the District 1 high school services director.

    "Somebody is tracking the materials the schools have. Somebody is counting the textbooks. All those other support activities are behind the scenes and all the classroom teacher needs to care about is whether there is support at the school site and support from that coach and department chair.

    "All those other people are invisible."

    But Kupferer also questioned the number of people involved.

    "They are making a lot of money. We don't know what they do and that money can be used for our salaries and put back into the classroom," she said.

    "If you have all those people making all that money and we don't know what they do, do we need so many of them?"

  • LAUSD SALARIES: EDITORIAL FOLLOW-UP - Administrative bloat


    On Sunday the Daily News published a database containing the names, job descriptions and salaries of every LAUSD employee. 4LAKids supports Openness, Oversight, Accountability and Sunshine - but abhors this violation of employee privacy. Attorneys, media ethicists and hand-wringing editorial boards have agonized over this and have bravely done the wrong thing because it was legal …and because it might sell papers+advertising.
    The DN in the past has led a charge against supposedly overcompensated District consultants and contractors. Those workers remain beyond the curtain - their contracts and remuneration undisclosed.
    The public has not been served. There is no upside to the teachers at a school knowing what all the other teachers make in salary. There is no upside to the parents at a school knowing which teacher makes more or less money than their child's teacher. This information could've been shared without naming names. I am human: of course I have looked up the names of those I consider to be the most incompetent bureaucrats in LAUSD to see what the going rate for supreme incompetence is these days. And it is a sad number compared to what excellence and diligence pays …or the going rate for promise. Life is not fair; I already knew that.
    If I subscribed to the DN (I don't) I'd cancel my subscription.
    Make you feelings known: Send your responses to DN Executive Editor Carolina Garcia (salary unknown) feedback@dailynews.com or call 818-713-3719
    - smf

    Article Last Updated: 09/27/2008 09:35:33 PM PDT

    The numbers don't lie - the LAUSD is a self-perpetuating bureaucracy

    Los Angeles Unified School District administration is growing like a district on the rise. From 2001-07, the second-largest school district in the country increased the size of its nonteaching staff by 20percent, to more than 6,600, according to an examination of district payroll published today by the Daily News.

    Trouble is, the LAUSD is not a district on the rise; it's one on a decline. And the uneven growth of its bureaucracy may be directly contributing to its descent.

    Even while the district's central office was adding staffers at a quick rate, the student body was shrinking. During roughly the same time period, school population dropped every year, with enrollment down now to about 650,000 students - about 100,000 fewer students since the beginning of the century. Because there were fewer students, naturally the number of teachers in the district dropped as well - by about 500.

    But the number of administrators continued to grow. Wouldn't it be logical to conclude that if there are fewer students and teachers, the district would need fewer administrators to oversee them?

    So, why this disparity? That's exactly what the Daily News wanted to know as it embarked upon this project to publish the salaries of every single employee at the LAUSD.

    Some of that administrative growth is entirely understandable. The district had to hire staffers to run its massive $19 billion school- construction project. Building that many new schools requires a team of folks to oversee the planning, construction and management.

    The rest appears to be merely a case of an out-of- control bureaucracy that has started to become a self-perpetuating entity. As the LAUSD's senior deputy superintendent, Ramon Cortines, put it: There are assistants who have assistants. When an organization gets too big, its very size demands more bodies just to sustain itself.

    It's not just its size that makes the LAUSD a bloated bureaucracy. It's the cost of that administrative bloat: $490 million. More than 3,500 of the district's employees earn more than $100,000 - and most are not teachers.

    In fact, the LAUSD's teachers, who toil in some of the most dangerous classrooms in the country, have comparatively modest salaries - about 17 percent less than in nonteaching jobs. That doesn't signal the priority on education that the district needs. Worse still, the LAUSD's teachers on average earn less than their counterparts in other large cities such as San Francisco.

    This information is particularly important given that Angelenos are about to decide whether to give $7 billion more of their money to the district to maintain and upgrade facilities. Voters ought to know how their money is being spent before deciding, in these precarious economic times, whether to shell out more.

    Considering the scope of the LAUSD's administrative bloat revealed in its staffing and salaries, it's clear the district's first priority is not educating students, but sustaining the bureaucracy.

    And that's not the sign of a healthy, growing district on the rise that deserves the public's support.

    LAUSD $ALARIES: A TWO-PART SERIES: Three Background Sidebars and a (pathetic) Editorial Apologia

    SEARCH: LAUSD Salaries Database

  • PART 1 - LAUSD administration swells 20 percent from 2001 to 2007
  • PART 2 - Despite cutbacks, students thrive at Cleveland High in Reseda
  • ▼  Beaudry building in downtown L.A. a pricey place for LAUSD personnel  ▼
  • ▼  How does the LAUSD compare on salaries?   ▼
  • UTLA members threatening a strike
  • ▼  Gathering the information on LAUSD salary review was a step-by-step process  ▼
  • ▼  Fairness played a key role in publishing LAUSD salaries
    EDITORIAL: Administrative bloat

    VIDEO: Cleveland High secures accreditation


    On Sunday the Daily News published a database containing the names, job descriptions and salaries of every LAUSD employee. 4LAKids supports Openness, Oversight, Accountability and Sunshine - but abhors this violation of employee privacy. Attorneys, media ethicists and hand-wringing editorial boards have agonized over this and have bravely done the wrong thing because it was legal …and because it might sell papers+advertising.
    The DN in the past has led a charge against supposedly overcompensated District consultants and contractors. Those workers remain beyond the curtain - their contracts and remuneration undisclosed.
    The public has not been served. There is no upside to the teachers at a school knowing what all the other teachers make in salary. There is no upside to the parents at a school knowing which teacher makes more or less money than their child's teacher. This information could've been shared without naming names. I am human: of course I have looked up the names of those I consider to be the most incompetent bureaucrats in LAUSD to see what the going rate for supreme incompetence is these days. And it is a sad number compared to what excellence and diligence pays …or the going rate for promise. Life is not fair; I already knew that.
    If I subscribed to the DN (I don't) I'd cancel my subscription.
    Make you feelings known: Send your responses to DN Executive Editor Carolina Garcia (salary unknown) feedback@dailynews.com or call 818-713-3719
    - smf

    Beaudry building in downtown L.A. a pricey place for LAUSD personnel

    By Justino Aguila and Beth Barrett, Staff Writers | LA Daily News

    Article Last Updated: 09/28/2008 12:50:58 AM PDT

    Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters at 333 South Beaudry Ave in Los Angeles, Ca. (Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer)

    The views from atop Los Angeles Unified School District's downtown headquarters are sweeping: Disney Hall, the Music Center complex, iconic high-rise buildings that make up the L.A. skyline.

    Inside the 29-story building, more than 3,400 employees filter through LAUSD's main offices every week. The triangular, 928,000-square-foot tower at 333 S. Beaudry Ave. had historically been difficult to lease while owned by Bank of America. It was purchased and renovated by LAUSD in 2001 for $154 million.

    But even today, according to a top LAUSD official, the building seems too ostentatious in light of budget cuts and other financial issues the country's second-largest public school district is grappling with.

    "This is not a good central office," concedes Senior Deputy Superintendent Ramon Cortines. "It's not inviting to parents and the community. Parking is atrocious; getting here is atrocious."

    LAUSD executives declined a Daily News request to videotape and photograph a tour inside the public building, saying it would be too much of a distraction for workers, according to Stephanie Brady, a district representative.

    But Superintendent David Brewer III maintained that Beaudry should not be viewed as a typical corporate building, saying it lacks the granite, fine wood and other trappings of some of downtown's more grandiose skyscrapers.

    "It's pretty austere," Brewer said, adding that his own offices are adequate.

    He said that while $154 million might seem pricey for the purchase and rehabilitation of the building, it is far less than the cost of leasing space downtown for all of the district's administrators and support staff.

    Brewer said he hopes the building eventually will come to be seen as a symbol of efficiency as he reduces the size of the central administration and consolidates leased space at other downtown locations into Beaudry.

    "It will be a symbol of success versus a symbol of bureaucracy. We'll consolidate all in one and save a fortune, and that's the ultimate in decentralization."


    How does the LAUSD compare on salaries?

    By George B. Sanchez, Staff Writer | LA Daily News

    Article Last Updated: 09/28/2008 12:52:15 AM PDT

    Even though LAUSD is the second-largest school district in the country, Superintendent David Brewer III and Senior Deputy Superintendent Ray Cortines make more than their peers at the nation's largest public school system.

    Meanwhile, Los Angeles Unified teachers on average earn $63,000, less than teachers in districts ranging from New York City and San Diego to Chicago and San Francisco.

    While direct comparisons are difficult because of varying positions and structures, the Daily News focused on five districts across the country that came close to LAUSD in size and demographics. LAUSD has nearly 900 schools and more than 650,000 students.

    The districts didn't always have positions with similar titles, so positions were compared based on job descriptions.

    The Daily News' comparison found Brewer and Cortines each earn $50,000 more than the heads of education in New York City, which has 1.1 million students and is the largest school system in the country.

    Cortines, who earns $250,000, is LAUSD's second highest-paid employee and his position is relatively rare in other districts.

    Of the five districts examined by the Daily News, only the New York City Department of Education has a comparable position. That post, deputy chancellor for teaching and learning, pays $200,000 annually.

    Earlier this month, the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education voted to reinstate a deputy superintendent after previously eliminating the position.

    LAUSD's chief financial officer and chief human relations officer also earn more than their counterparts in other districts.

    David Holmquist, LAUSD's chief operating officer, said it's not surprising that LAUSD teachers make less than those in other districts.

    "Basically, other states fund education at a much higher rate than us," he said. "Eighty-five percent of our budget goes to people. If we're (funded) low to begin with, our employees are going to make less."

    Still, San Francisco high school teachers earn an average $75,817 a year and San Jose high school teachers earn an average $73,361 a year. LAUSD high school teachers have an average salary of just under $62,000.

    Salaries for LAUSD teachers are based on level of education and experience as well as contractual agreements.

    A.J. Duffy, head of United Teachers Los Angeles, says the disparities even within California prove what the LAUSD teachers' union has claimed all along. "This clearly shows how the system couldn't care less about teachers," Duffy said.


    Gathering the information on LAUSD salary review was a step-by-step process

    By Beth Barrett, Staff Writer| LA Daily News

    Article Last Updated: 09/28/2008 12:50:23 AM PDT

    The Daily News obtained Los Angeles Unified School District's salaries database under the California Public Records Act in an effort to better understand the district's staffing and salary costs as it faces budget cuts.

    The Daily News requested the database June 2. The district consulted an outside attorney, who concurred the information was public. The Daily News received the 154,037-record database July 25 for all employees who received 2007 W-2s.

    The Daily News analyzed the data by removing retirees who are receiving residual payments and consolidating all employees with multiple jobs into single entries.

    That resulted in 107,587 employee salaries, including part-time workers and substitute teachers.

    The database can be accessed at dailynews.com and is searchable by name, job title and salary range. The Daily News is not disclosing employees' exact work locations out of safety considerations.

    Because the database reflects a single point in time, it likely includes some employees who have since left the district and excludes some who have been hired since the data was provided.

    The Daily News worked with district officials to determine current 2008 salaries for employees with a single job, reflecting the salary step they were at when the database was produced.

    For employees who may also teach summer school or have other district jobs, the database reflects actual pay for 2007. Such cases are indicated with an asterisk, noting actual pay includes salary as well as other differentials such as extra pay for advanced degrees or bilingual skills. For teachers, these are their annual salaries, not just for the school year.

    In a few cases, employees' 2007 pay may appear lower than their pay grade. In those cases, it may be the employee retired or worked only part of a year.

    District officials this month identified cases where some teachers' salaries in the database reflected overpayments as the result of widely publicized problems with the district's payroll system last year, and they corrected them for the Daily News.


    Fairness played a key role in publishing LAUSD salaries

    Carolina Garcia, executive editor | Daily News

    Article Last Updated: 09/28/2008 12:52:41 AM PDT

    Today, the Los Angeles Daily News kicks off a two-day analysis of the Los Angeles Unified School District that shows a shrinking student body, shrinking teacher base, but growing bureaucracy and a wide disparity in pay between teachers and administrators. In order to highlight that disparity, we decided to make available online the names and salaries of every LAUSD employee.

    In the days prior to this story being published, we heard from many teachers who feel that their privacy is being violated, and who asked us to not publish their names and salaries. While we have enormous respect for teachers, and understand their concerns, we believe that we should treat every LAUSD employee equally. The Daily News did the same in previous examinations of other public employees, and this report is part of our continuing effort to provide the public with information about how its tax dollars are being spent.

    We believe reports such as these will make government - including school officials - more responsible and more accountable to the citizens it serves.

    Send your responses to feedback@dailynews.com or call 818-713-3719.

    -

  •