Los Angeles Unified School District could be sending out more pink slips to their already sparse roster of teachers. The school board, yet again, unanimously approved layoffs as a way to close an expected $640 million budget gap.
The first positions that will be eliminated are school nurses and librarians as well as an increase in class sizes in an already inundated school system that is the second largest in the country, after New York City.
This news comes in wake of the vote by LAUSD to hand over some its public schools to charter school operators and teachers groups as part of an experiment to see whether outsiders will have better luck improving student achievement. The board awarded four schools to charter groups, and two schools to a group led by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
“We’re extremely disappointed in the vote today,” said Lauren Carter, administer for ICEF, Inner City Education Foundation, a charter school group that runs 15 schools in Los Angeles and hoped to be awarded a new school. Instead the board voted to give the school to a teachers’ group. “We were looking for more bold action from board members to make decisions for what was in the best interests of the kids. It’s a sad, sad day for us.”
Under a resolution passed last year, the Los Angeles Board of Education for the first time allowed charter schools and outsiders to bid for the right to operate schools deemed “public school choice” sites.
Charter schools are said to be doing quite well according to a Times analysis that showed, overall, L.A. charter schools deliver higher test scores than traditional public schools.
These type of cuts are taking place all over the United States so this recession is obviously far from over. With all of these cuts taking place and a complete overhual of the healthcare system its going to be very interesting to see what our nation will look like in a few of years. One thing is certain and that is if we don't raise a competent next generation things will be looking bleaker than they do now.
U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan stated that he wants to “make sure there is flexibility on the local level. We cannot begin, nor do we want to micromanage 100,000 schools from Washington. The best ideas have always come from the local levels and we want to continue to support that.” I am sure the local-level-less-government touting Republicans will be happy about that one.
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