LAUSD and Teachers' Union Form Tentative Agreement

School Superintendent John Deasy told the elected school board last night that he's decentralizing the LAUSD. He's made a deal with Warren Fletcher, newly elected president of the teachers' union, to let local schools hire teachers, choose teaching materials and set schedules. These are powers the Union has wanted for years, and Fletcher had to make some concessions. The deal isn't final until UTLA members approve.

Also, in a follow up to last night's WWLA?, the Santa Monica-Malibu School Board last night changed private fundraising rules. By a vote of 6 to nothing, with one abstention, it ruled that PTA's of individual schools will no longer be allowed to pay the salaries of extra teaching staff. The goal is to avoid inequities between rich and poor schools. The district-wide Education Foundation will get that responsibility sometime in the next three years. The City of Malibu has voted to consider forming its own, separate district.