LAUSD Board To Meet Publicly Today For The First Time Since Pandemic Began

While both the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and L.A. City Council have continued to hold remote meetings throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the L.A. Unified School Board hasn’t met in open session since March.

That streak is due to end today at 1 p.m., when the school board is set to meet. Here’s what they’re talking about:

• LAUSD’s budget: Superintendent Austin Beutner is due to give an update on how pandemic response and potential state funding cuts — which he warned yesterday are “just as real a threat to [students] as is the coronavirus” — will affect LAUSD’s bottom line.

• Emergency procurement: Board members are reviewing a list of purchases LAUSD officials have made using emergency powers they voted to give the superintendent when the pandemic began. Among the items: more than $72 million in technology purchases and another $30 million on food. Read our story about how tech companies have been the biggest recipients of this spending >>
• Charter school co-locations: Today, LAUSD board members will vote whether to renovate 68 district-owned facilities — so that a charter school can move in. These charter “co-locations,” mandated by a state law known as Proposition 39, have always been a point of tension. Recently, L.A.’s teachers union has been calling for a moratorium on new campus-sharing arrangements.

Here’s a live stream where you can watch the meeting and the webpage where the meeting materials are posted. To address the board during the meeting, you’d have to go to LAUSD’s headquarters downtown, but you can also send a public comment via email.

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READ MORE:

• The Big Winners From LAUSD's Emergency Coronavirus Spending: Tech Companies

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