The news that doesn't fit from August 3rd

LAUSD TO ASK VOTERS TO OK $7 BILLION BOND

Los Angeles Daily News, CA - Aug 1, 2008

By George B. Sánchez, Staff Writer After long negotiations, last-minute changes and criticism from members of its own bond oversight committee, the Los Angeles Unified School District board unanimously decided Thursday to put a $7 billion bond measure ...

Civil-rights attorney Connie Rice, who chairs the bond oversight committee: "The way this bond has been teed up borders on incompetence", the wording of previous bonds was not changed just before the vote and neither was the bond amount doubled without discussion, she said. The oversight committee recommended the bond measure a 7-3 advisory vote, with Rice among the dissenters

Oversight committee vice chairman Scott Folsom had supported the measure a few days earlier. But then it doubled in size, and he also became concerned about building-safety standards for charter schools. "It was hurried," Folsom said. "Two weeks ago, we were talking about a well-thought, $3.2 billion bond. In the last 10 days, with pressure from the charter school community, the mayor and Eli Broad, it doubled."

$7-BILLION LA SCHOOL BOND JOINS NOVEMBER BALLOT

Los Angeles Times, CA - Aug 1, 2008

From four previous bonds, the Los Angeles Unified School District already has enough money to allow every student to attend a neighborhood school on a traditional, two-semester schedule -- the main goal for those earlier measures.

UCLA SE UNE AL LAUSD :: UCLA JOINS THE LAUSD

LAUSD Selects UCLA to Operate Pilot School - from the UCLA Office of Media Relations

7/31 - La Opinión and the Korea Daily report today on a partnership between the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, the Los Angeles Unified School District and several community-based organizations to enhance equity in K–12 education through the Bruin Community School, the first of the district's pilot schools at the former Ambassador Hotel site. KABC-Channel 7, KMEX-Channel 34, KFWB-980 AM and KABC-790 AM reported the story Wednesday. Chancellor Gene Block is quoted in La Opinión.

MANEJARÁ UNA ESCUELA K-12 QUE FORMA PARTE DE UN PLAN PILOTO DEL DISTRITO ESCOLAR | TO HANDLE K-12 SCHOOLS THAT FORM PART OF A PILOT SCHEME SCHOOL DISTRICT

by Ruben Moreno | LA Opinion | Automatic Translation: Spanish » English

July 31, 2008 - The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) has become the latest institution at the moment to join the list of partners interested in managing a group of stocks Unified School District Los Angeles (LAUSD).

EXPERTS QUESTION CALIFORNIA'S ALGEBRA EDICT

“It’s a shortsighted policy that confuses taking a course with learning,” said Tom Loveless, a member of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, a White House-commissioned group that spent nearly two years examining strategies to prepare students for algebra.

By Sean Cavanagh | EDweek - Business leaders from important sectors of the American economy have been urging schools to set higher standards in math and science—and California officials, in mandating that 8th graders be tested in introductory algebra, have responded with one of the highest such standards in the land.

Still, many California educators and school administrators are questioning how their state will meet the new requirement, given students’ persistent struggles in that subject and the potential demand it will generate for more math teachers and classroom resources.

DENVER MERIT-PAY PLAN EMBROILED IN CONFLICT: Union Objects to Proposal to Modify Pact

By Vaishali Honawar | EdWeek - Denver’s performance-pay system for teachers has long been hailed as a model, in good part because it was jointly conceived and implemented by the school district and the local teachers’ union. But that collaborative spirit is now in jeopardy, with union and district leaders engaged in a protracted battle over proposed changes to the system.

DRAFT 2008 BOND PACKAGE SUMMARY - PROPOSED DISTRIBUTION

as of Friday afternoon, 25 July 2008

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DISTRICTS ENDING OR REDUCING BUS SERVICE FOR STUDENTS

Unlike most other states, California does not require districts to provide home-to-school transportation except in limited circumstances. The high cost of fuel and budget shortfalls are being blamed. But some fear that forcing more students to walk or drive to school will cause safety problems.

Pay2Play: YOUTH SPORTS HIT BY LAUSD FEES

by Melissa Pamer, Staff Writer | Daily Breeze - Youth sports groups in the South Bay and Harbor Area are starting to feel the pinch from the Los Angeles Unified School District's move to begin charging for the use of gyms and playing fields.

The increased fees, which came in March after clubs had for decades used facilities for free, have meant reduced practice schedules and, in some cases, increased costs for players.

The fear is that the fees - which district officials said were needed to make up for an incredibly tight budget year - will force low-income athletes to drop participation in sports clubs, which supporters say give at-risk youth positive after-school alternatives.