Pink slips, or "preliminary layoff notices" went out around the state yesterday. Local districts are are among those who sent off the most, but the Los Angeles Unified School District takes the cake: They sent out 11,700 notices, which is over half of the total sent state-wide. more ›

In the face of a $408-million shortfall, the Los Angeles Board of Education approved its final budget on Thursday, "bridging a multimillion-dollar deficit in the state's largest school district with pay cuts and the layoffs of about 3,000 people, including some teachers, counselors and office workers," according to the LA Times. more ›

With 83.2% approval, members of United Teachers Los Angeles voted in favor of a new, 1-year contract that includes temporary salary reductions, but spares thousands of jobs, union representatives announced this weekend, according to the LA Times. In all, 40,000 union members were eligible to vote -- 20,429 members voted in favor of the agreement, 4,127 voted against it. more ›

Friday afternoon was declared a half-day by LAUSD as an estimated 5,000 teachers and supporters descended on Pershing Square to protest the budget cuts. How bad is it? California has laid off 30,000 teachers in recent years with an estimated 20,000 pink slips already issued this year. And now Gov. Jerry Brown is looking to slash billions of dollars from the state education budget, according to the Calfornia Teachers Association. more ›

A week of protests across the state of California began Monday as part of the California Teacher's Association (CTA) $1 million State of Emergency campaign. Thousands of teachers were expected to participate in sit-ins, teach-ins and protests over proposed budget cuts along with the threat of layoffs, larger classes and the elimination of myriad programs. more ›

Employees of the Los Angeles United School District set to be laid off are speaking out Monday at a "Reduction in Force" hearing about the impact of budget cuts on students and whether the district followed policy when handing out layoff notices, reports ABC Local. more ›

The Los Angeles Times is poised to release a database of performance data for teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. This is to follow on the heels of a recent analysis published by the paper that examines the efficacy of 5th grade teachers as part of their series "Grading the Teachers." more ›

A rally was held today at the Music Center Plaza in Downtown for voters, teachers, students, and other supporters of Measure E. The goal of the gathering, which included performances by LAUSD students, whose arts programs and teachers may face further cuts or complete elimination, was "to bring attention to Measure E on the June 8th primary ballot and see what a 'Yes' vote can do to save the jobs of hundreds of music and arts teachers, more ›

Earlier this month, pornstar, director, and entrepreneur Joanna Angel oversaw the production of ). more ›

Three caucasian teachers at a South L.A. elementary school have been placed on suspension after they allegedly had students hold signs of O.J. Simpson, RuPaul and Dennis Rodman in a Black History Month schoolyard parade alongside students carrying signs of people from an approved list like President Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela and Harriet Tubman. more ›

Just one day after the Los Angeles Unified School District voted in favor of the plan to give control of struggling schools to non-profits, a lawsuit filed against the LAUSD by the ACLU is focused on layoffs at three schools--two of which are operated by Mayor Villaraigosa's non-profit "Partnership" program. more ›

In a controversial yet budget-saving move, the Los Angeles Unified School District board today approved a plan to cut some 5,000 jobs. Of those to be jettisoned from the payrolls will be 1,400 teachers, increasing average class sizes from 24 to 29, according to the Associated Press. Outside the meeting, protesters rallied with signs that read "Stop Underfunding Our Schools. Enough is Enough." The district has a $1.2 billion projected budget deficit for the next two years. 2,000 teachers were laid off earlier this year. Speaking of layoffs, the latest UCLA Anderson forecast indicates economic growth, but does not foresee job growth. more ›

The school year is well underway now, and campuses in the vast LAUSD system are coping with the consequences of this year's massive budget cuts. But in the state as a whole, "the impact of California's budget cuts has varied from school to school. Because of the patchwork of federal and state funding for education, some campuses have felt the pinch far less than others," explains Mitchell Landsberg in yesterday's LA Times. more ›

When Kenan Bell isn't in the classroom of a local Montessori school teaching youngsters language arts, he's on stage schooling crowds with his own unique brand of hip-hop that blends indie-rock with electronica, a style URB called "his very own genre of nu-gaze, emo-hip-hop." In March, the La Crescenta native put on full display his eclectic musical taste and range when he dropped the “Good News: The Mix-Tape,” which features remixes of songs by artists as wide-ranging as Pink Floyd, Lily Allen, Gang Gang Dance, Jose Gonzalez, Peter, Bjorn & John, Duran Duran, and Neil Diamond. Yes, you read that right, Neil Diamond. more ›

Los Angeles' "photo-op" Mayor has spent the past few weeks with the word 'FAILURE' hanging over him, so to speak, thanks to Los Angeles Magazine's recent cover story on Villaraigosa's approaching second term in office. Now it seems that the bulk of his Partnership schools within the LAUSD have also given the Mayor an 'F' in the form of a "thumbs down from teachers," according to the LA Times, adding:

Eight out of 10 schools delivered a "no confidence" vote, and we're talking landslides (84 to 17 at Santee Education Complex, 96 to 13 at Stevenson Middle School, 70 to 13 at Gompers Middle School, 61 to 8 at Markham Middle School and 184 to 15 at Roosevelt High, which the mayor himself once attended).

Students at Liechty Middle School engaged in a silent protest during their graduation ceremony last week and it wound up costing them their diplomas. "The students turned their backs on graduation speaker Monica Garcia, LAUSD Board President, to express their displeasure to teacher layoffs and cutbacks," press materials explain. more ›

A teacher hunger strike protesting LAUSD budget cuts officially comes to an end today after 24 days. Nine participated with two making it to the end, according to LA Now. In an open letter on Day 6, Jose Lara, published an open letter to a few key board members about the strike. more ›

Today marks Day 8 of the Hunger Strike initiated by several LAUSD teachers and community members. In addition to the hunger strike, protesters have held, and will continue to hold, "camp-out" events, bringing supporters and community members together to "celebrate and protect the culture" of area schools; one such evening is planned for tomorrow from 6-8:30 p.m. at Miguel Contreras Learning Center. more ›

Following several days of protests by teachers, and their students, against the Los Angeles Unified School District and their recent decision to layoff hundreds of teachers, increase class sizes, and eliminate funding for several programs, the civil disobedience continues in the form of a hunger strike. more ›

Like last Friday, a number of students from Santee and Lincoln High Schools protested budget cuts and teacher layoffs this morning. They marched to the LAUSD headquarters in downtown where Superintendent Ray Cortines spoke to them, according to Cuts Hurt Kids on Twitter. Last week, students and teachers protested ending with a around 40 educators in jail. more ›

LAUSD teachers planned a walk out today over budget cuts forcing massive teacher layoffs, then a judge said no, the teachers okay, we won't walk out, we'll protest before school begins and now some teachers haven't stopped protesting. more ›

Plans for a one-day teacher walk out and protest planned for Friday had the kibosh put on them today by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. Unionized teachers wanted to protest anticipated layoffs and large class sizes and LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines doesn't want to disrupt school environs, especially in light of state and advance placement testing. more ›

The folks at Cuts Hurt Kids have set up this interactive map to show where parents, teachers, students, and community members are working in protest of Los Angeles Unified School District budget cuts, including teacher layoffs. The map plots points of action, locations, as well as links to stories, images, and videos related to LAUSD's budgetary woes and how the cuts will affect the community at large. Have something to add to the map? Let Cuts Hurt Kids know. more ›

In a closed-session meeting yesterday, the LAUSD Board of Education voted unanimously to file suit against the teachers' union, UTLA, charging that their planned May 15th "work stoppage" is "unfair labor practice," reports abc7. more ›

It was as close to a split as a panel of 7 can get: In a 4-3 vote, the LAUSD Board of Education voted late yesterday afternoon to approve layoffs that will affect thousands of teachers and other district staff. more ›

Following a morning meeting held between Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Board of Education members Monica Garcia and Yolie Flores-Aguilar, and parents and teachers, the LAUSD has just announced they will "drop a proposal to lay off as many as 1,900 permanent teachers," LA Now reports. The move spares permanent teachers at elementary schools, who will still have to deal with increased class sizes and other shortfalls in support and services. Although the news is encouraging for some, teachers at middle and high schools in the district still face layoffs, as do thousands of other employees. The issue of the budget cuts and layoffs will be on the agenda for tomorrow's regularly scheduled Board meeting, but following today's meeting and announcement, "Supt. Ramon C. Cortines and school board president Monica Garcia insisted that they will continue to work to minimize the number of layoffs, even if the board approves them as a precaution." more ›

With one day left before the LAUSD Board is due to vote on the postponed motion for thousands of layoffs district-wide at their regularly scheduled meeting, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is expected to meet later this morning with teachers and parents to talk about ways to avoid the ax falling so mightily. more ›

Under pressure from United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing educators working in the LAUSD, the Board of Education agreed on Tuesday during their regular meeting to postpone voting on proposed layoffs. The Board, in a gesture meant to show alignment with Superintendent Ramon Cortines, decided to pursue meetings and discussions of alternatives with bargaining units, and will bring the motion to the table once more on April 14th. more ›

Members of the United Teachers Los Angeles are gathered right now outside the LAUSD's Local District 5's offices to protest the board's plan to terminate thousands of teachers, many of them the district's youngest and most energetic. The crowd, dressed in either their UTLA red shirts or pink (symbolic of the pink slips) prompted District 5 Superintendent Carmen Schroeder to come down to address the crowd. Using a microphone, several of the area's... more ›

The Los Angeles Unified School District reached a tentative agreement yesterday with the union representing its teachers which gives them a new contract that will last until 2011, according to abc7.com. more ›