Tag Archives: Jerry Brown

More Praise For Gov. Brown’s Funding Formula

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Governor Jerry Brown pitches his formula last month in LA — UTLA president Warren Fletcher in background

Superintendent John Deasy told LA School Report that the passage of Governor Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula was “probably the most important education public policy decision in 40 years.”

“This is beyond phenomenal,” he said. “I feel great.”

The LA Times editorial page also praised Brown this morning, saying, ”with his decisive and, yes, stubborn insistence on fixing what was so badly broken, Brown will have helped the state’s neediest children for decades to come.” The Local Control Funding Formula “could well become the great legacy of his administration.”

There are some strings attached to the new formula, notes SI&A Cabinet Report – including more stringent reporting requirements for groups of different kinds of students within schools (special education, low-income, etc.) — which will likely affect some LAUSD schools.

Previous posts: LA Unified Wins Big Under State Budget Compromise; Brown Soft-Sells School Formula in LA; Deasy Joins Governor’s Funding Formula Offensive; Gov’s “Weighted” Funding Formula Will Transform LAUSD

LA Unified Wins Big Under State Budget Compromise

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RB BudgetState lawmakers have reached an agreement with Governor Jerry Brown about how to overhaul state education funding that — while altered somewhat from Brown’s original proposal — will still be of substantial financial benefit to LAUSD.

“I applaud Governor Brown and our legislators for their work on the compromise announced on the Local Control Funding Formula,” said Superintendent John Deasy in a written statement.

The compromise language is designed to give more money all school districts while still making sure districts like LAUSD with a large concentration of low-income and English language learning students get a big boost.

Last month, Deasy said that the original Brown plan would hand LAUSD an extra $188 million in the first school year alone. The compromise version is expected to give the district roughly the same amount of money.

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LA Times: Better School Funding Formula from Brown

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Brown at recent LA press event, with Deasy to the far right

Governor Brown speaking at recent LA press event, with Superintendent Deasy to the far right

Last week’s visit from Governor Jerry Brown in support of his proposed new funding formula garnered lots of media attention and the enthusiastic support of LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy (who’s depending on the $188 million bump in funding for LAUSD that would come from the Brown overhaul).

But Brown hasn’t yet persuaded lawmakers in Sacramento … or the LA Times editorial page: ”The concept is spot on,” according to the Times, “but in this case the details matter too.” In particular, the Times thinks that the Brown formula isn’t generous enough to smaller districts with smaller numbers of poor students, creating funding gaps over time as large as $2,000 per kid between adjacent districts.

To read the full piece, go here:  Fairly funding California’s schools

Chart: At Least We’re Not in Illinois

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Census Bureau via Wall Street Journal

The LA Times reported earlier this week that California has slipped another notch in public spending on K-12 education — from 23rd in 2008 to 35th in 2011 — part of a nationwide dip in spending reported by the Census Bureau.

At least we’re not in Illinois, where education funding dropped the most (7.4 percent) over the same time period. Still, particularly shocking was this tidbit: “The New York City school district spends twice as much per pupil on instructional salaries as does Los Angeles Unified.”

Things are likely to get better thanks to last year’s ballot measure to hike taxes for public education, and Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed formula revamp could make things even better for districts like LAUSD with lots of bilingual and poor students — if it’s approved.

Brown Soft-Sells School Formula in LA

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Gov. Brown addresses reporters and photographers

Governor Jerry Brown continued to promote his Local Control Funding Formula proposal at a Friday morning press conference at East LA’s Humphreys Elementary.

Joining him was an All-Star cast that included LA Chamber of Commerce CEO Gary Toebben, United Way CEO Elise Buik, School Board member Bennett Kayser, former State Senator and City Council candidate Gil Cedillo, UTLA President Warren Fletcher, and LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, who (in what must be an extremely rare occurrence) introduced Fletcher to the podium as “my union president.”

The Governor presented his plan as a small but important change in how funds are allocated to districts like LA.  Deasy described its passage as a make-or-break $188 million game changer. His chief intergovernmental relations staffer noted that there were some LA-area legislators who hadn’t yet gotten behind the plan.

The Brown proposal would divert more money to school districts like LAUSD with a higher concentration of low-income students and English Language Learners.

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Deasy Joins Governor’s Funding Formula Offensive

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Deasy (right) with Governor Brown yesterday (via LAT)

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy was in Sacramento Wednesday for a press conference in support of Governor Jerry Brown’s proposal to shift more funding to school districts like LAUSD that have large numbers of poor and English Language Learner students.

Brown’s central message to lawmakers: resistance is futile. “If people are going to fight it, they’re going to get the battle of their lives, because I’m not going to give up until the last hour, and I’m going to fight with everything I have, and whatever we have to bring to bear in this battle, we’re bringing it,” he said.

Deasy said Brown’s proposal “brings to life the promise of equity long overdue in this state,” according to the Sacramento Bee.

Edgar Zazueta, Director of Governmental Relations for LAUSD, said he and Deasy were confident that Brown would get at least most of what he wants. “There’s still a lot of skepticism in the Assembly. But the tide is turning.”

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Morning Read: Did UTLA Leaders Make a Deal With Candidate?

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Rumor of Deal Roils Teachers Union
The leadership of the Los Angeles teachers union is roiled over whether its officials made a private deal with a Board of Education candidate whom critics view as an ally of anti-labor forces. LA Times

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Donates $350,000 to LAUSD Reformer’s Campaign
With the runoff now less than a month away, Bloomberg has given the coalition an additional $350,000 – again at Villaraigosa’s request – to support the election of Antonio Sanchez to the District 6 seat. LA Daily News
See also: LA School Report

Teacher Evaluation Bill Opposed by Unions Dies in Committee
Legislation that would have required more frequent evaluations of educators was killed by a state Senate committee Wednesday under strong opposition from teachers’ unions. LA Times
See also: LA School Report, SI&A Cabinet Report

Jerry Brown Vows Battle With Democratic Critics of Education Plan
Gov. Jerry Brown offered a spirited defense of his plan to overhaul the state’s education system Wednesday and warned Democratic critics of his plan that they were “going to get the battle of their lives” if they attempt to change key parts of his proposal. LA Times
See also: EdSource, Fresno Bee

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Morning Read: State & District Graduation Rates Rise

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Graduations Up, Dropouts Down in LAUSD, Statewide
High school graduation rates for Los Angeles Unified and districts across California increased last year, with Latino students showing larger gains than their white and Asian classmates, the state Department of Education said Tuesday. LA Daily News
See also: LA Times, KPCC

Villaraigosa Criticizes Mayoral Candidates Over Education Goals
In the last major speech of his mayoral career, Antonio Villaraigosa chastised the two politicians seeking to replace him for not laying out visionary education goals, urging the candidates to look to other big cities for inspiration. LA Daily News
See also: Associated Press, LA School Report

The Greuel-Garcetti Conundrum
Here’s why two San Fernando Valley voters have switched allegiances, and why a third is still pondering. LA Times Column (Steve Lopez)

Los Angeles Unified School District Hires Security Aides to Watch for Threats
Tenth Street Elementary is in the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles, a few blocks west of the Staples Center and downtown skyscrapers. It’s a tough neighborhood; school security is always an issue. KPCC

Apples to Apples Comparison of Brown’s Funding Formula
Twenty-two of the 50 largest districts in the state would receive more money under Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed K-12 funding formula when it’s fully funded, potentially in seven years, while 28 districts would do better if additional money were simply divvied up under the current system, with no reforms, according to data provided this week by the state Department of Finance. EdSource
See also: SI&A Cabinet Report

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Morning Read: Parents Choose New Plan Today

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24th Street Elementary Pulling Parent Trigger
The Parent Trigger at 24th Street Elementary School in West Adams keeps chugging along — despite what L.A. mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti thinks about it. LA Weekly
See also: San Bernardino Sun

New Analysis Bolsters Case Against Suspension, Researchers Say
The results of a new analysis of out-of-school-suspension data that show staggering rates of the punishment’s use at some schools are even more reason to rethink that common method of disciplining students, researchers said Monday. EdWeek
See also: KPCC, EdSource, Yahoo

LA Unified Off Track to Meet Deadline for College Prep Courses
Los Angeles Unified School District has some work ahead of it to meet its deadline for all students to pass college-preparatory classes in order to graduate. EdSource
See also: LA Daily News

California Federation of Teachers Lobbies Lawmakers
It’s lobby day for the California Federation of Teachers, which means members of the state’s second-biggest teachers union (after the California Teachers Association) are in Sacramento to petition lawmakers. Sac Bee

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Morning Read: Parents Weigh Trigger Options

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Parents With Power Over L.A. School Weigh Their Options
About 50 parents on Thursday attended a presentation to help them decide who should run 24th Street Elementary School, a campus whose fate is in the hands of families who are trying to change the management of the school under the controversial parent trigger law. LA Times
See also: San Bernadino Sun, LA School Report

University Conference Hopes to Rally Southland Education Reformers
A TEDx conference at Loyola Marymount University on Saturday seeks to turn the traditional education conference on its head. Organizers believe that competing ideologies, little cooperation, and “finger-pointing” are keeping public schools in Los Angeles from improving. KPCC

U.S. Dept. of Ed. Protesters Turn Fierce Rhetoric on ‘Corporate’ Reform
As they kicked off four days of protests at the U.S. Department of Education, organizers of Occupy DOE 2.0 today used inflammatory—and, in one case, racially insulting—rhetoric to rally opposition against high-stakes testing, “corporate” education reform, and the “dismantling of public education.” EdWeek

Brown’s Funding Plan Faces Vigorous Review – and Speed Bump
The chair of the Assembly Education Committee turned Gov. Jerry Brown’s comprehensive plan for education finance reform into bill form Thursday, ensuring that all aspects will get an extensive review, while raising the possibility that the plan may not pass in time to take effect July 1, as the governor wants. EdSource

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Morning Read: CTA Backs New Teacher Dismissal Bill

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In Meeting of the Minds, CTA Also Backs Teacher Dismissal Bill
With unusual speed, the California Teachers Association endorsed a bill Assemblymember Joan Buchanan introduced last week that would quicken the process for dismissing teachers. The teachers association joins Sen. Alex Padilla, thus creating a consensus among opposite sides of one of the most contentious issues last year in the Legislature. EdSource

The Secret to Fixing School Discipline? Change the Behavior of Adults
A sea change is coursing slowly but resolutely through this nation’s K-12 education system. More than 23,000 schools out of 132,000 nationwide have or are discarding a highly punitive approach to school discipline in favor of supportive, compassionate, and solution-oriented methods. New American Media

Poll Finds the Less You Make, the More You Like Brown’s School Finance Reform
An even 50 percent of respondents told pollsters they favored – while 39 percent opposed – the idea of having “some money diverted from middle and upper class children to low income children and English language learners.” EdSource

Lockyer Widens Request for Legal Opinion on School Bond Campaigns
California Treasurer Bill Lockyer on Monday expanded his request for a legal opinion to determine if some local education officials and the financial underwriters they hire are violating state law by campaigning for school bond measures. LA Times

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Morning Read: LA Teachers to Vote on Deasy, District Policies

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LAUSD Teachers Set to Vote on Confidence in District, Union Policies
Los Angeles Unified’s 40,000 teachers will be polled next month on their confidence in Superintendent John Deasy and whether they want their union to ratchet up demands for higher pay, smaller classes and an end to many of the district’s reforms. LA Daily News

California Voters Split on Jerry Brown School Plans
Fifty percent agree with the governor’s proposal to give more funds to school districts that serve low-income children. A separate Brown plan to give local districts more funding control is favored by 59%. LA Times

LAUSD Salvages Summer School, but Classes Will Be Limited
Despite fears that Los Angeles Unified would have to cancel summer school this year, officials say they’ll be able to hold a limited number of credit-recovery classes at 16 high school campuses across the sprawling district. LA Daily News

State Educators Support LAUSD Waiver From No Child Left Behind Law
State education officials support efforts by Los Angeles Unified and eight other school districts to get a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law, but remain concerned about who would monitor a new accountability system. LA Daily News
See also: EdSource

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Morning Read: LAUSD to Pay Millions Over Abuse Lawsuits

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LAUSD to Pay Nearly $30M to Settle Miramonte Sex Abuse Lawsuits
Los Angeles Unified will pay nearly $30 million to settle claims by 58 children who say they were victims of former Miramonte Elementary teacher Mark Berndt, the veteran educator charged with committing bizarre acts of sex abuse against students, attorneys said Tuesday. LA Daily News
See also: LA Times, KPCC, AP, LA Times Now Live

LAUSD Charters Would Lose Funding Under Gov. Jerry Brown’s Budget
Wilbur Elementary got $230,000 in state grants when it converted to a charter last fall. Now, administrators at Wilbur and other affiliated charters, nearly all of them in the San Fernando Valley, are struggling with the news that they stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants if lawmakers approve Gov. Jerry Brown’s new formula for funding public education. LA Daily News

L.A. Charter School Aims to Toss Out Students With Fake Addresses
Officials at Carpenter Community Charter, a top-notch elementary, think 120 children are enrolled fraudulently. They want to make room for students who live in the neighborhood. LA Times

Try a Different tack: Hold Teachers Responsible for Education Quality
The logic of the reformers seems to be that teachers unions are so wrongheaded, and the citizenry sufficiently tired of fights about seniority and teacher evaluation, that putting forward a slate of school board candidates is the way to change the balance of power in the school district and mute the pesky union.  But the strategy hasn’t worked. EdSource Opinion

Over-Praising Preschool
Obama wants the government to fund a free year of pre-kindergarten, but studies don’t back up his claims of long-term benefits. LA Times Opinion

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Morning Read: Daily News Endorses Two Reform Candidates

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Three for LAUSD Board – and for Education Reform
The result could either confirm the slow move toward innovation and reform in the nation’s second-largest school district. Or it could reverse the course, destroying the few steps the district has taken in recent years to shake up the old, failing education structure. LA Daily News Editorial

Bloomberg’s Meddling in L.A. Unified Races Is Paying for Junk Ads
The wealthy New York mayor’s $1-million contribution to the Coalition for School Reform is helping fund attack ads in L.A. that distort the truth and misinform voters. LA Times Steve Lopez Column

Brown’s School Funding Plan Draws Mixed Reactions
The governor’s proposal would funnel more money to low-income, English-learning or foster-care students. Not everyone thinks that’s fair. LA Times
See also: LA Daily News

Los Angeles Unified School District Takes First Steps to Equip Students With Tablets
Last week, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board approved to spend $50 million to purchase tablets, install wireless networks, and provide teacher training for approximately 30,000 students at 47 schools. EdSurge

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Morning Read: Rhee, Longoria Join Fray Over LAUSD

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Michelle Rhee Group Donates $250,000 to Candidates in LAUSD Races
A group led by former District of Columbia schools chancellor Michelle Rhee donated $250,000 Wednesday to contests for seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education, adding further political fuel to a battle over the direction of reform efforts in the nation’s second-largest school system. LA Times
More campaign coverage here: KPCC, Jewish Journal, NBC LA

L.A. Votes: Greuel Fights Back 
With the clock ticking down to election day, the Los Angeles mayor’s race is getting testy. LA Times

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy Seeks No Child Left Behind Waivers
With California unable to get a waiver from the No Child Left Behind law, LAUSD and nine other districts have launched an effort to create their own data-based accountability systems — and have more freedom in how to spend tens of millions in federal dollars. LA Daily News

More Students Taking and Passing Advanced Placement Exams
More students in the Los Angeles Unified School District took and passed an Advanced Placement exam last year, reflecting a rise in success on the college-level tests in California and nationwide. LA Times
See also LADN
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Morning Read: Behind the Spending in the Board Race

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Outside Groups Trying to Influence L.A. School Board Races
Outside groups are mounting campaigns to influence the outcome of three races for seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education. LA Times
See also: LA School Report

L.A. Schools Need Technology, but Can We Afford It?
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles School Board will consider a Common Core Technology Project Plan. If approved, the plan would initially fund computing devices for 30,000 students at 47 schools for $50 million, beginning in 2013. LA Daily News Op-Ed by LAUSD Board Member Tamar Galatzan

Districts to Seek NCLB Waiver Whether or Not They’re Invited
Rather than taking a position on the legality of district waivers, Duncan said his biggest concern is capacity. With 15,000 school districts that could potentially apply, it would be unmanageable. EdSource

LAUSD Petitions for Sweeping Relief From Class Size Requirements
The Los Angeles Unified School District is set to bring applications forward next month seeking relief for 78 school sites from class-size restrictions required under a special state funding program. SI&A Cabinet Report

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Morning Read: LAUSD Misspent Millions in Lunch Money

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L.A. Unified Misspent Millions Marked for School Lunches
At least eight California school districts have misappropriated millions of dollars in funding intended to pay for meals for low-income students — the biggest culprit being the Los Angeles Unified School District, according to a state Senate watchdog group. LA Times See also: KPCC, LA Daily News

Why Educators’ Wages Must Be Revamped Now
Some districts are spending more than they need to spend, based on what other districts show is possible. But does this excess spending imply that we can simply cut back on spending without harming students? EdWeek Commentary

Glendale Unified, Police Settle Suit Over Racial Profiling
The ACLU of Southern California announced Wednesday that it had reached settlements with the city of Glendale and the Glendale Unified School District on behalf of eight Latino students who alleged that officials engaged in racial profiling and illegal searches during a 2010 incident at Hoover High School. LA Times

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Morning Read: Brown’s Funding Accountability Plan

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Brown Details How to Hold Districts Accountable Under Funding Reform
Responding to criticism that he is offering flexibility without accountability, Gov. Jerry Brown has offered up specifics on how he would hold school districts responsible for extra money he is proposing to give them for high-needs children under his proposed sweeping reforms of how California schools are funded. EdSource

California Wants to Ramp up Its Technical Education and Career Training Programs
California education officials want to expand and promote career and technical education classes offered by public schools. KPCC

Education Miracles That Aren’t
In seeking reform models, L.A. Unified should be cautious about untested solutions. LA Times Editorial

Detectives Investigating Ex-Priest’s Conduct With Girl, Then 16
Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives have launched an investigation of an ex-priest and L.A. school district employee about a sexual relationship he allegedly had with a 16-year-old in the late 1980s, The Times has learned. LA Times

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Morning Read: Garcia Leads in Fundraising

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Garcia Leads in Fundraising for L.A. School Board
Financial data released Thursday show that Monica Garcia raised $174,288 last year, far outdistancing the combined total of four challengers vying to unseat her. LA Times

Southern California Schools to Benefit From Gov. Jerry Brown’s Budget
California’s public schools are the big winners in Gov. Jerry Brown’s “breakthrough” budget plan, with education leaders saying they hope to have the money to restore many of the public services gutted by years of recession. LA Daily News, KPCC

With More Money to Spend, Brown Launches K-12 Funding Reform
Gov. Jerry Brown yesterday proposed an unfamiliar budget for public education in the state – one with actual increases. EdSource

In CA, Standardized Teacher Evaluations Trip Over Wealth Gap
As California tries to come up with a more robust way of evaluating teachers, the biggest hurdle could be something educators don’t have any control over: the state’s increasing socioeconomic disparities. La Opinion/New American Media

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Deasy Praises Brown Budget Proposal

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Gov. Jerry Brown

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy praised the budget proposal California Gov. Jerry Brown released today, saying in a press release, “the changes announced today are quite positive for our students in the Los Angeles Unified School District.”

In his proposal, Governor Brown would fund school districts based on the number of its students and the level of challenges faced by its students, meaning districts like LAUSD with higher enrollments of low-income students and English language learners would be eligible for more state funding. According to Deasy, the Brown proposal would prevent new furloughs or budget cuts.

To see the summary of Gov. Brown’s 2013-2014 budget proposal, click here. To see Superintendent Deasy’s full press release, click here.