A 4LAKids reader writes:
Hell might freeze over since the LASchoolReport got it right:
But in all likelihood, the budget presented last week by Superintendent John Deasy and the spending plan that reflects the new revenue from the state’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) will not change significantly after parents, students and community leaders have their say. In fact, there’s very little the board members can do, either, as the budget approaches a final vote on June 24 and presentation to the LA County Office of Education before July 1.Can you believe it? The Truth …finally! And they even described why this is the truth:
“School board members cannot veto line items. To adjust spending in a particular area, a member must raise the issue for discussion, make recommendations on where to find an offset, then persuade a majority of colleagues to agree to the changes.”
And then they even tell us what those in the belly of the beast have known all along:
“I don’t think that’s going to be happening,” Chris Torres, Chief of Staff for board President Richard Vladovic, told LA School Report. “The board members have expressed everything they’ve needed to express in the past meetings.”
So all the Sturm und Drang over the last couple of months with all those speakers pouring their souls, plus all the squawking from the PAC and DELAC, and that wonderful political theater (John Rodger! Sylvia Rousseau! Alex Caputo-Pearl! etc! etc!) that resulted in the ASNI being shoved down the Board's throat is all for nothing since it did not change Deasy's mind (or [Matt] Hill's "models", which ever comes first).
The budget is Deasy's and Deasy's alone.
Can we handle that Truth? Can we?
Forget it, Scott. It's Chinatown...
Where to begin?
First, Thank you anonymous reader for this.
.I am blown away by the juxtaposition of quotes from two Jack Nicholson movies: Can you handle the truth from AFGM and and the coda from Chinatown. All I can do is add a line from Terms of Endearment: “You're just going to have to trust me about this one thing. You need a lot of drinks.”
The article from LA School Report follows and I strongly urge you to read it. Dr. Vladovic called me out (in a pleasant way) for not crediting the board for sitting through the unlimited two-minute comments from the public on May 13 when I wrote
- “Next Tuesday thirty community members are invited to comment on the LCFF and the budget at 2 minutes each at a special board meeting. 650,000+ students. One thousand+ schools. Thirty community members at 2 minutes each. An hour of community engagement over $6.6+ billion of spending.” …last Sunday.
He is right - and so am I.
The May 13 speakers were sparking to a draft LCAP that has since been revised. The “Superintendent’s Final [draft]” School-by-School and District Budgets were not released to the board or the public until this week.
Yes, the District has given the community lots of opportunity to speak out and speak up on the LCFF – but I remain unconvinced that the speakers were actually listened-to. The Local Control Accountability Plan Parent Advisory Committee – the elected and appointed parent/community representatives as specified by the state legislature – have been effectively silenced and ignored.
Will a spokesperson from of the LCAP PAC address the board and present their advice on June 24th? I think not.
Communication is interactive. Transparency is transparent. Accountability is accountable.
Advisory Committees give advice; they aren't the ones advised. This committee, lest we forget,was ‘advised’ to be more compliant …or they might be subject to legal action!
There are a thousand school districts in California and 1,130 charter schools. Every one of them is supposed to have a LCAP PAC. How many other ones were threatened with lawsuits? …and my argument has never been with Dr. V. It is with the guy who sits to his right/your left on the horseshoe.
Boards of Education in California do three things.
- They set policy.
- They appoint and dismiss superintendents.
- They approve budgets.
The ground rules for budget approval in LAUSD: “School board members cannot veto line items. To adjust spending in a particular area, a member must raise the issue for discussion, make recommendations on where to find an offset, then persuade a majority of colleagues to agree to the changes” would make sense in the real world/in real time … but in LAUSD the Board will debate the budget at one meeting and one meeting only – at 4PM on June 24th – seven days before the drop-deadline of July 1!
The quote “The board members have expressed everything they’ve needed to express in the past meetings” gives balderdash a bad name.
Public gets last chance to shape LAUSD 2014-2015 budget
Posted on June 16, 2014 9:34 am by Vanessa Romo | http://bit.ly/1ib75KL
*UPDATED
The revised budget is in the hands of the LA Unified Board of Education, but the public has a final opportunity tomorrow to weigh in on how the district’s $7 billion budget will be spent.
The board has set a limit of 30 speakers to address the six members for two minutes each, to advocate for their causes célèbres.
But in all likelihood, the budget presented last week by Superintendent John Deasy and the spending plan that reflects the new revenue from the state’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) will not change significantly after parents, students and community leaders have their say. In fact, there’s very little the board members can do, either, as the budget approaches a final vote on June 24 and presentation to the LA County Office of Education before July 1.
School board members cannot veto line items. To adjust spending in a particular area, a member must raise the issue for discussion, make recommendations on where to find an offset, then persuade a majority of colleagues to agree to the changes.
“I don’t think that’s going to be happening,” Chris Torres, Chief of Staff for board President Richard Vladovic, told LA School Report. “The board members have expressed everything they’ve needed to express in the past meetings.”
The only item on the agenda that may impact the budget is Bennett Kayser’s resolution to invest $44 million over the next three years in early education. His motion would earmark $10 million for the upcoming school year, $14 million in 2015-2016 and $20 million in 2016-2017.
Meanwhile, the teachers union, UTLA, is pressing for more changes. Union leaders are planning a noon press conference at district headquarters to campaign for major changes in Deasy’s budget, including money to return teachers, counselors, nurses, librarians and social workers who were laid off during the recession.
“The Superintendent’s budget does not do enough to restore these key positions,” the union said in a press release. “The 640,000 students in this district deserve the type of support system that exists in many other districts across California and the nation. This inequity cannot be ignored.”
Among other issues tomorrow, Kayser has a motion before the board, to keep Stuart Magruder, an architect, on the Bond Oversight Committee. Magruder’s reappointment for a two-year term was blocked last month because of his opposition to using bond money for iPads.
Deasy is expected to deliver on his promise to provide the board with a final formula for the Student Need Index, which is supposed to identify the district’s neediest schools by taking into account such factors as graduation rates, local crime and environmental health conditions.
The Index was passed in a 5 -1 vote last week, on the condition by board member Monica Ratliff that the superintendent quickly come up with a plan to identify the schools that will be getting additional LCFF dollars as a result of the new plan.
The board is also considering final spending plans for the district’s 53 affiliated charter schools.
For board agenda, click here, and here (for special meeting agenda).
For board materials, click here, and here (for final budget proposal).
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