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Labor's Edge Articles by David Lyell
3/28/12
LAUSD Should Fund Schools in Need, Not District Offices
by David Lyell
Dear LAUSD School Board Members, Superintendent Deasy, Secretary Duncan, and President Obama,
We all want to provide the educational opportunities for children and our communities. Please help me receive clarity on the following:
Instead of sending Title I, II, and III money to school sites, as is intended under these programs, LAUSD senior management has chosen to keep this money at central district offices in order to fund unproven, costly initiatives such as the Teaching and Learning Initiative, commonly known as the Value-Added Teacher Evaluation model.
Due to a lack of transparency (the dust hasn't yet settled), it's not even clear yet how much will be spent centrally on these unproven programs, but it appears to be well over $175 million. Is this legal?
3/16/12
Test Mania: A School is Not a Spreadsheet
by David Lyell
LAUSD has issued more than 9,500 RIF notices to UTLA bargaining unit members, denying educational opportunities to our communities, and shuttering Arts Programs, Adult Education, and Early Childhood Education.
The LAUSD school board majority says they they don't have a choice, even though they're spending $2 million to $4 million (the equivalent of 25 to 50 employees) on citywide implementation of the Early Start Calendar; they're keeping $200 million locked away in a drawer, accounting for it as money they'll spend later; and over the next four years the District intends to increase the number of administrators by 27% (according to the four-year budget LAUSD submitted to the county).
2/22/12
LAUSD Budget Proposal Fails to Put Classrooms and Communities First
by David Lyell
With the recent Los Angeles Unified School District/United Teachers Los Angeles agreement to stabilize schools, LAUSD officials embraced a renewed commitment to fixing schools rather than continuing to abdicate that responsibility to outside interests.
Then, they took four steps back by creating a devastating “fiscal stabilization" budget that would decimate communities and educational opportunities. In a small spot of good news, School Board members voted unanimously to delay approving this budget, but they will take the issue back up on March 13.