L.A. tax addicts looking to score

By Larry Sand
04/30/2019
Union leader and the school district want more of your money to feed a bad habit. United Teachers of Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl is on a mission. In an online rant to his flock, he makes a pitch for Measure EE, a parcel tax that will be on the ballot in Los Angeles on...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, Charter schools, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, Measure EE, Nick Melvoin, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Los Angeles Unified School Dysfunction

By Larry Sand
04/16/2019
More bad news from the nation’s second largest school district. According to a report released last week, less than half of the 2019 Los Angeles Unified School District graduating class will be eligible to attend one of the state’s public universities. There are 15 essential “A–G” courses, including English, math, and science that students need...

TAGS: Austin Beutner, Charter schools, credit recovery classes, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Jon Coupal, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, Nick Melvoin, parcel tax, Taxifornia, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

The looming apocalypse in California

By Larry Sand
09/18/2018
The “state crisis” threatened by Los Angeles teacher union boss two years ago is upon us. In two recent posts, I detailed the United Teachers of Los Angeles contract demands on the school district and reported that a strike was likely. And of late, the situation has gone from bad to dire. Perhaps the biggest...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, George McKenna, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, Nick Melvoin, Richard Vladovic, teacher pay, teacher strike, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Education establishment put kids and taxpayers last

By Larry Sand
03/13/2018
Three hundred “must place” teachers in Los Angeles don’t work, but are still on the payroll. What does a school board do with teachers whom no principal wants to hire? In New York, that problem was “solved” this past fall when Mayor Bill De Blasio and school chief Carmen Fariña, began to unload the so-called...

TAGS: Bill de Blasio, Clayton Christensen, George McKenna, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, LAUSD, Mike Antonucci, Nick Melvoin, Prop. 13, Richard Vladovic, teachers union

Earthquake rearranges school board in Los Angeles

By Larry Sand
05/23/2017
Aftershocks could have ramifications; teacher union leaders grouse as they plan next steps. On Tuesday, May 6th, Nick Melvoin and Kelly Gonez, who are more concerned with the needs of parents, kids and taxpayers than stoking the bureaucracy and complying with teacher union diktats, were elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District board. Reformers...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, Eli Broad, Eric Heins, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, National Education Association, Nick Melvoin, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles