Editor’s Note: A day after this commentary appeared, Los Angeles Unified announced it will consider postponing until Fall 2022 its decision to force unvaccinated students into the demonstrably failed City of Angels program. Engaged parents made this happen. Special thanks to UTLAuncensored, Reopen Schools, and other ParentUnion.com allies. News that a mother has accused Los...

Even with an infusion of new state and federal funds, the San Francisco Unified School District got a grim warning on Sept. 15 from the state Department of Education: a state takeover loomed unless district officials offered a plausible plan to wipe out $116 million in red ink by Dec. 15. Even as enrollment plunges...

Editor’s note: This column is an expansion of a piece the author previously published in CalMatters on July 22, 2021. You can read that piece here. A massive battle is about to hit California school districts, and parents must prepare to fight for their students. Through a series of federal relief packages passed in Washington,...

In a true testament to the impact engaged parents can have, California officials chose in two separate instances this week to put kids and their education before woke politics. It’s something not seen enough these days, and certainly worth celebrating when it happens. The first student-centric victory came on Tuesday, when the Los Angeles Unified...

This week, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously to support a resolution condemning anti-Israeli rhetoric being pushed by the United Teachers Los Angeles in recent months. Below are the comments offered by a Los Angeles parent on the resolution. Watch the full discussion here.  Good Morning. My name is Margaret...

In addressing school board, mom paints picture of what school could look like in student-first district As the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education seeks a new superintendent to replace the outgoing Austin Beutner, one mom has an idea: Hire a superintendent who will put student needs ahead of union demands.  During the...

With a significant portion of the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package earmarked for K-12 public schools, concerns have arisen over potential misuse of those funds. As Fox News recently reported, “Multiple California school districts have discussed using state and federal COVID relief money to hand out bonuses for teachers and staff, with one district’s union even...

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck hard back in April 2020, California’s teachers’ unions went into overdrive. The United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) released a lengthy document outlining what they believed to be “Safe and Equitable Conditions for Starting LAUSD in 2020-21.” In a report published by the California Policy Center that same month, Larry Sand explained the deal...

As reported in the Beverly Press and elsewhere, the “the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously to place a $7 billion school construction bond issue on the November ballot which would allow the LAUSD to continue its multi-year effort to upgrade school facilities.” Writing for CityWatch on August 6, Jack Humphreville had this to say about this big new...

The virtue of a defined contribution plan is that once the employer has made their contribution, the employer’s obligation is fulfilled. The employee’s retirement benefit is based on a “defined” contribution – typically some fixed percentage of their base pay – that money is invested, and the retiree lives on the accumulated savings and interest....