Father of two children at Beethoven Street Elementary School
Father of two children at Beethoven Street Elementary School in Mar Vista
PROFILE
John Ayers
Guest
FROM John Ayers
Which Way, L.A.?
Seniority Rules and Equal Rights in LA's Public Schools Because of the economic crunch, the Los Angeles Unified School District was forced to lay off teachers last year, and that’s certain to happen again. State law mandates that the last teacher hired must be the first fired. In February, the American Civil Liberties Union went to court , claiming that the seniority rule was depriving some kids of their constitutional right to an equal education. Now, the elected School Board has approved what Mayor Villaraigosa calls a “ landmark agreement ” that protects some 45 under-performing schools from lay-offs. The teachers’ union may challenge the deal .
Recommended
LRC Presents: All the President's Lawyers
Bonus Episode: The wind-up before the punch Josh Barro and Ken White couldn’t wait to debrief on the Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen sentencing memos before the documents become old news. So, voila! Bonus episode.
Zócalo's Connecting California
It’s a wonderful state California’s story needs a rewrite, and Zocalo Public Square commentator Joe Mathews knows just the man for the job.
KCRW Features
One Year Later: How Ojai Weathered the Thomas Fire Ventura County residents recall how the largest fire in state history, at the time, ignited and threatened to engulf the city of Ojai.
The Mixer
Repainting the Sheriff's department, tan and green Barring any unforeseen changes, there will be a new L.A. County Sheriff at the start of next week. Alex Villanueva defeated sitting Sheriff, Jim McDonnell, in this month’s midterms after running a partisan campaign that lead to the first ouster of a sitting Sheriff in more than a century. Villanueva told KCRW this week that his goal is to rid the department of officials that, he said, contributed to a corrupt culture under previous leadership. But there is a lot of concern about what that will look like and if recent reforms could be rolled back.