School Finance and Education Reform

The Los Angeles Unified School District is in for change. State money is dwindling, and there will be a new superintendent next spring. Four school board seats will be up for election, and AJ Duffy will step down as head of United Teachers of Los Angeles. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa got his start as an organizer for that union, but now says that schools "once synonymous with excellence" have become "dropout factories." In a major speech last week in Sacramento, he called the teachers' union, "the most powerful defender of the status quo…"

Also, Governor-elect, Jerry Brown is making good on his campaign promise to hold a series of public discussions to define California's problems. Last week in Sacramento, it was the state budget. Today at UCLA, he talked to educators about the education budget.