In This Issue:  | | • | L.A. UNIFIED WINS EMINENT DOMAIN CLAIM | | | • | OBAMA'S EDUCATION ROLLOUT + OBAMA UNVEILS $18 BILLION EDUCATION PLAN | | | • | SHOULD SCHOOLS BE BLOWN UP? LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer on English reclassification, payroll problems and failing schools. | | | • | JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM AIMS TO EASE TENSIONS, BROADEN HORIZONS | | | • | YOUTH GROUP LEADERS LAMENT FEES FOR USING FIELDS +THE PRIVATE SCHOOL FACILITIES ARM RACE | | | • | EVENTS: Save the date + Coming up next week... | | | • | What can YOU do? | |
Featured Links: | | | | There was a political cartoon in Tuesday's Times that had a couple of Indians speaking to each other on a bluff overlooking Massachusetts Bay as the Mayflower sails in. The caption is unimportant …the irony of the message is the image itself.
Be careful of what you're thankful for!
THE COURT HAS RULED IN A SMALL CASE that has had my attention and that of my neighbors in Northeast LA. The interest of the community and the schoolchildren (and coincidentally the School District) prevailed over a developer and his politician-friends-in-high-places with another agenda. The high school the community wants, needs and deserves will be built at Taylor Yard! I recall a community meeting on the same project when a city planner from the Community Redevelopment Agency remarked that she had never before seen such a ironic juxtaposition of roles: A developer opposing a project and the community up in arms: "YES IN MY BACK YARD!"
For this blessing we are truly thankful.
WHEN ROY ROMER LEFT LAUSD he turned his focus to getting the candidates running for President to focus on Education - an effort that has to date produced not much. But Monday Barack Obama weighed in with an $18 billion plan and the Ed Quote o' th' Week and the campaign:
"We can spend billion after billion on education in this country. We can develop a program for every problem imaginable and we can fund those programs with every last dime we have. But there is no program and no policy that can substitute for a parent who is involved in their child's education from day one."
One hopes that this will not be the final word on the subject from him or the others - and for this blessing we are truly thankful.
THE FOOD FIGHT BETWEEN UTLA AND THE SUPERINTENDENT over the High Priority Schools Plan escalated to war per the Daily News. When last heard from UTLA President AJ Duffy promised Superintendent Brewer and the Hi Priority Schools Task Force to get along - but radio news reports he sequestered himself with the Board President and forced cancellation of the first true public debate of the plan at a meeting scheduled Tuesday - and will offer UTLA's own plan. Thank you very much.
AND THE TIMES PUBLISHED ONLINE (but didn't print) a lengthy interview with the Superintendent. This allows 4LAKids to circulate that interview in it’s entirety - and perhaps allows 4LAKids to take the rest of the week off. For this we can all be truly thankful!
Gobble 'till you wobble... and remember that tryptophan (the 'inactive ingredient' in turkey) is a drug.
¡Onward/Hasta adelante! - smf
L.A. UNIFIED WINS EMINENT DOMAIN CLAIM
JUDGE APPROVES DISTRICT OFFICIALS' RIGHT TO TAKE GLASSELL PARK PROPERTY FOR A NEW HIGH SCHOOL. HOW MUCH THEY'LL HAVE TO PAY FOR IT HAS YET TO BE DETERMINED.
by Evelyn Larrubia, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 20, 2007 - The Los Angeles Unified School District won the first round Monday in a legal battle with developer Richard Meruelo over the fate of a former rail yard.
Superior Court Judge Soussan Bruguera ruled that the district had a right to take the 23-acre Glassell Park property from Meruelo through eminent domain. The decision frees the district to build a 2,300-student high school there without fear of losing the property later.
"Clearly we're pleased that she finally made this decision so we can move forward with building the school," said Michelle Meghrouni, associate general counsel for the district. "She made the right decision."
The new school is planned to relieve crowding at Franklin and John Marshall high schools -- both on three-track schedules -- and Eagle Rock High, home to 3,000 students. The community has been actively lobbying for the new campus.
Outside the courtroom, neighborhood activist Alisa Smith said the ruling brought "tears of joy."
But the district still has a long legal fight ahead as it turns to the question of money. With the question of ownership decided, the district and Meruelo will now tangle over what the lot is worth -- an issue that has separated them for years.
The district offered $29 million last year. Meruelo paid $30 million for the parcel in 2005 -- "a rising real estate market," his lawyer, Patrick A. Hennessey, said Monday.
Hennessey said the district never fairly evaluated the value of the land after Meruelo bought it. "I think they still are low-balling my client," he said.
Meruelo's purchase was controversial, in part because the district also was negotiating for the property and had made an offer, officials said.
Also controversial was the source of Meruelo's funds. He tapped a credit line with the public employees' retirement fund, CalPERS -- which includes nonclassroom L.A. Unified workers -- to buy the vacant lot north of downtown.
Meruelo, whose firm describes itself as the largest landowner in downtown Los Angeles, has said he didn't know about the district's interest in the lot when he made his offer.
He put forth ambitious development plans, which included housing, offices and stores.
As the school board considered whether to take the land from him forcibly, Meruelo offered to build the school as part of his plans, officials said, putting the school in a smaller, adjacent lot he did not yet own.
"There were no viable alternatives that would not impact, say, 150 residential homes in the community," said Tom Calhoun, central regional development manager for the district. "There just isn't open space of that magnitude" in the area.
Unable to reach an agreement on a price, the district filed the court documents necessary to take the 23-acre parcel by eminent domain, prompting Meruelo to sue.
In eminent domain cases, the agency taking the land is required to deposit with the court what it believes to be a fair price for the property. The district deposited just over $29 million.
Meruelo gave a creditor who held a note on the land the go-ahead to take the deposit, district officials said.
A state appellate court ruled in a similar case that once the deposit is taken, even by a creditor, the landowner gives up the right to fight the government's move to take the land.
Bruguera said Monday that reading that decision "tipped the scale" in the district's favor.
"That San Diego case is pretty clear," the judge said. "It's clear to me that that's what needs to happen here."
Meruelo's lawyer said his client may appeal the decision, but for now they will move on to valuation. A trial is set for May.
OBAMA'S EDUCATION ROLLOUT + OBAMA UNVEILS $18 BILLION EDUCATION PLAN
►OBAMA'S EDUCATION ROLLOUT
from MSNBC FirstRead
by Aswini Anburajan | NBC/National Journal
November 20, 2007 — Obama unveiled an ambitious $18 billion plan to expand public education from pre-school through 12th grade while at Central High School in Manchester, New Hampshire this morning.
Calling education "the currency of the Information Age," Obama stressed the need for expanding public programs to help American competitiveness with other nations. He said that a child in Boston now needs the training to compete with the kids getting an equal or better education in Bangalore or Beijing.
"In this kind of economy, countries who out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow,” Obama said. “Already, China is graduating eight times as many engineers as we are. By 12th grade, our children score lower on math and science tests than most other kids in the world."
Obama criticized No Child Left Behind, saying that educating America's children shouldn't involve teaching them how to "fill in bubbles." He also used the unpopular education bill to take a dig at the records of both Clinton and Edwards.
"It's pretty popular to bash No Child Left Behind on the campaign trail,” Obama said, “but when it was being debated four years ago, my colleague Dick Durbin offered everyone a chance to vote so the law couldn't be enforced until it was fully funded. Senator Edwards and Senator Clinton passed on that chance, and I believe it was a serious mistake.”
Obama's education plan calls for: (1) full funding for educational programs from birth to 5 years old; (2) increasing the number of teachers through scholarships and incentive grants for taking challenging assignments; (3) prioritizing math and science education; and (4) focusing on parental responsibility in education.
The focus of Obama's education policy is on birth to 5, years Obama said were pivotal in children's development. The investment he added would be paid back to society 10-fold. His plan sets the goal for universal pre-school, but does not provide require parents to enroll their kids in it.
"And for every dollar we invest in early childhood education,” Obama said, “we get $10 back in reduced welfare rolls, lower healthcare costs and less crime.”
He cited his record in the Illinois Senate, where he said that he started the Early Learning Council, to point to how early education programs could be successfully implemented.
In order to address the current teacher shortage, Obama said that he would create a national teacher service corps, which would provide $25,000 scholarships to encourage undergraduates to become teachers. He also called for "professionalizing" teaching, creating a career ladder that would allow teachers to pass national assessment tests and reward teachers who perform well.
Aides to the senator, however, quickly disputed that this is “merit pay,” which they say simply ties compensation to how students perform on a standardized test. Obama has in the past called for performance-based pay – most notably while at the National Education Association’s annual conference.
The Obama plan, though, does provide a "differentiated compensation system," which would reward teachers for undergoing additional training, for demonstrated learning gains by students, and for showing expertise and leadership. It would also allow teachers to take a role in deciding how to design their compensation at the local level.
Policy aides also disagreed with the idea that this plan was a significant expansion of the role of federal government in public education, saying the investment was in line with the current role that federal government plays in enhancing and supporting states' roles in providing public education. Instead, they pointed to Obama's call for parental involvement in education as a sign of his commitment that education must rely on partnership between parents and public educators.
Though Obama called for a renewed investment in math and science education, his plan would actually pull money from the federal government's greatest investments and achievements in math and science. Obama would delay funding for the NASA Constellation program for five years, though he would maintain the $500 million in funding the program would receive for its manufacturing and technology base, in order to help fund his education policy. The campaign did not say how much money delaying the program would provide.
The plan would also be paid for through the auctioning off of surplus public land, closing the CEO pay deductibility loophole, reduce costs of standardized procurement and through the some of the money that would be saved by ending the war in Iraq.
This is the third significant domestic policy Obama has unveiled in the past two weeks. Earlier this month, under the umbrella of a middle-class agenda, Obama unveiled tax-savings plans, day care and child care credits and the expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act. In Iowa yesterday, Obama touted his commitment to community colleges and called for grants to expand their reach.
_______________________________
►OBAMA UNVEILS $18 BILLION EDUCATION PLAN
by Philip Elliott – Associated Press
November 20, 2007 — MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Presidential contender Barack Obama on Tuesday called for a $18 billion education plan that he said would fix mistakes his chief Democratic rivals made when they approved President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" effort.
The Illinois Democrat criticized Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards for not fully funding No Child Left Behind. While outlining his own education proposal to prepare students for college and to train teachers to lead in classrooms, Obama said the two rivals haven't done enough to protect students.
"It's pretty popular to bash No Child Left Behind out on the campaign trail, but when it was being debated in Congress four years ago, my colleague Dick Durbin offered a chance to vote so that the law couldn't be enforced unless it was fully funded," Obama said. "A lot of senators, including Senator Edwards and Senator Clinton, passed on that chance. And I believe that was a serious mistake."
Obama's plan would encourage universal pre-kindergarten programs — but not require them — expand teacher mentoring programs and reward teachers with increased pay not tied to standardized test scores. Failing teachers would be moved from classrooms and replaced with ones who are competent, Obama said.
"In this election, at this defining moment, we can decide that this century will be another American century by making a historic commitment to education. We can make a commitment that's more than just the rhetoric of a campaign, one that's more than another empty promise made by a politician looking for your vote," the Illinois senator said.
Obama's plan would cost $18 billion. His campaign said he would pay for it by delaying NASA's Constellation Program, which is developing the vehicle and rockets to go to the moon and later to Mars, by reducing costs by buying in bulk, by auctioning surplus federal property and by cutting down erroneous payments identified by the Government Accountability Office.
Obama said families also have to be part of the solution.
"We can spend billion after billion on education in this country. We can develop a program for every problem imaginable and we can fund those programs with every last dime we have. But there is no program and no policy that can substitute for a parent who is involved in their child's education from day one," he said.
Obama said he would accredit college programs, remove poorly performing teachers from classrooms and increase time spent on math and science instruction. He said mentoring programs are key to keeping good teachers involved and improving struggling ones.
He said he also would establish 40,000 new scholarships for potential teachers, pay for continuing education programs and invest in new schools.
SHOULD SCHOOLS BE BLOWN UP? LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer on English reclassification, payroll problems and failing schools.
Superintendent Brewer's Q&A with the LATimes Editorial Board | from latimes.com/primarysource
November 21, 2007 - Admiral David Brewer, superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District, dropped by the editorial board the other day to discuss, among other things, the problems of English-language learners and his own on-again-off-again plan to create a mini-district for low-performing schools. Some highlights:
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
David Brewer: We have the largest English-language learner population in the nation, over 200-some-odd thousand students. If we were to carve them out as a separate district, they would be the sixth-largest district in the nation. That population right there is the most challenged population. And there's an irony with that population; 70% of them are native born. And so we said, OK, so what's driving this low achievement throughout the system? Well, the standard English learners, a percentage of whom are also African Americans, are also in this mix. So when we began to look at it we said, my God, if, if you look at one of the pieces, called Reclassification to Fluent English Proficiency, and we're reclassifying about 50% of that population K through 5. That means 50% of that population's showing up in middle school not prepared, frankly speaking, for middle school, because of language. And so we said, OK, then we have to go to a family-of-schools approach.
Now you've heard all the UTLA rumblings. If a separate district was the answer, let them run it, was my position. But when I went and presented to the task force our findings, UTLA came back and said — you know, they were clearly opposed to a separate district. When I look back at [former superintendent Ruben] Zacharias, people were opposed to his hundred schools, because of the labeling, of the stigmatism. And my counter to that has been quite clear. I think that in L.A. the general public, other than through the 1381 debate, you know, really does not know how well or how badly the schools are doing. I don't think they really know. I don't think they're really focused on it.
Jim Newton: You mean they don't know how the school where their children are going is performing or they don't know globally how the whole system is...
David Brewer: I think both, in some cases. If you asked the average parent, how well is your school doing, I wonder what they'd tell you. Now I haven't surveyed that. It really goes back to the whole, it counters the whole stigmatization argument. We have schools that have been in program-improvement status for nine years. Now I think most of those parents probably know that those schools are not doing well. Now program-improvement has its own politics, because you can have great students inside of those schools that are doing well, but the thing about NCLB is it shines a light on the schools that are in the shadows... Because we have such a large population of ELs and SELs, that's the reason I'm having this national summit in December. We have to focus like a laser on that in order to drive this school district to what I would consider world-class academic standards. [...]
Karin Klein: What kind of power will you have over the way pre-schools do things if you do manage to get more kids into pre-school? Because I know that LAUP's priority at this point is not to focus on English-language instruction and to let kids continue in their native language.
David Brewer: To the extent that I'm dealing the LAUPs and the private folks, then I have to, you know, work with them on that. To the extent that I have my own early education centers and I'm building more and more of those, then I'll have a lot of influence. You know, that's a partnering and articulation conversation that we're going to have to have. [...]
Karin Klein: What are the schools that successfully reclassify kids from English-language learner, what are they doing?
David Brewer: A lot of it goes back to professional development. A lot of it is just the way they do business. Many of them are using the same tool — open court — to do it. They're working harder and longer and have teachers working there who know how to get it done.
TRAINING FOR THE DISTRICT
David Brewer: People keep asking what I'm really doing. What I'm really doing is putting in the systemic changes inside the, what I call inside of the school walls, in order to make this district work the way it's supposed to work.
Jim Newton: Give us an example of one of those. What's a change you're making inside a school wall that is making life better for children in that school?
David Brewer: Professional learning development and leadership is going to be really at the core of this. If you're going to have a world-class faculty, world-class organization, your people have to be well trained in leadership and management. That is not the case. That's why I created a position — I recognized that probably within three to four months of getting here. I called for that appointment; I finally got it in July. What you will see in many cases is that you put people into positions with absolutely no training with the exception of credentialing for teachers and leadership academy for principals. But everything else, no. There's nothing there. And even there we can do a much better job, because our position is that teachers need leadership and management training just like principals do. For several reasons, because they eventually become your principles, in many cases. They eventually become your administrators. For a system not to have that in place, to me, is ridiculous... When you benchmark against other districts we are woefully behind. [...]
Tim Cavanaugh: How much does the district spend on professional development right now?
David Brewer: Right now we don't know. Because right now everybody's doing their own thing... Estimates run somewhere in the neighborhood of $400... That's everything that's out there. That's people coming up to us and saying we want you to try this program. Or some classroom teacher saying we want to try this program. I mean, right now there is no coherence in the program. [...]
Joel Rubin: Do you have any idea how much you're going to have to spend on professional development in the system that you want to have?
David Brewer: Ah, no, not yet, I don't have that yet, Joel. I don't know.
Karin Klein: When you say everybody does their own thing, is that at the school-site level, the principle decides what the professional training will be?
David Brewer: Yes, in some cases that is indeed what happens.
Karin Klein: Does the school have a dedicated amount of money with which to make those decisions?
David Brewer: No. The way it works in some cases is that some school sites will go out and get grants; that's not general fund money. They'll go out and get grants...
Jim Newton: And it's the same thing with the district; they'll just go out and do it on their own?
David Brewer: Yeah. In some cases that's the case. In some cases it's more centrally controlled but in some cases it is not. And so, we're just now at the beginning stages of getting our arms around that.
Tim Cavanaugh: The $400 million figure is from district general funds though?
David Brewer: No, not all...
Tim Cavanaugh: That's including grants and so forth?
David Brewer: Grants and other funds, yes.
WHAT CAUSED THE PAYROLL DEBACLE?
David Brewer: The failure was this: That first of all there was no contractor oversight. That there was no real person in charge of this thing, at least the person who was in charge of it was not technically smart enough to know how to work the system. There was no separate chief information/technology officer dedicated to this. That was the first thing. We were depending on people who frankly speaking did not know how to interpret the problems that the system had technically.
So what we had to do, we started making progress, and then the June fiasco happened, when a software glitch caused this major overpayment cycle. The system also has its own, in other words, when you go through a school-year pay cycle, there are certainly things that happen throughout the school year. You've got the start of school; you've got normal-day where you find out how many kids are there; you've got summer school, and you've got all of these things. So what should have happened was this payroll system should have been rolled out in parallel to the old pay system. And going through all of the things that you see us going into now, then you would have seen all the glitches and overpayments and stuff like that happen outside of the system, instead of inside the system. That did not happen.
And you did not have the expertise for contractor oversight to look at the contractor. In my previous job we had, I had $1.5 billion in contracts. But what I had was a separate organization that maintained contractor oversight and made sure the contractors were delivering what they were supposed to deliver. So we have EquaTerra doing that now. We hired EquaTerra in June, and so EquaTerra comes in, finds all these problems, and is now beginning to clean it up. So beginning in June to November we cleaned up one of the major problems, which was causing the overpay. It's a software glitch associated with something they call reannualization. And so we fixed that problem, but we are still not out of the woods because we've got to recoup money; we've got to do W-2s and we've got to simplify the pay system, and— and we just found out that SAP cannot account for about 500 people inside of the system who do not work to a standard calendar, even though we were told that we could. And now my contractor oversight says if that doesn't happen, they can't get paid.
Robert Greene: Is there still a contract with Deloitte for maintenance of the system?
David Brewer: Yes.
Robert Greene: So EquaTerra is on top of that?
David Brewer: Yes.
WHY DON'T THEY GIVE OUT FS ANYMORE?
Tim Cavanaugh: Do you see a correlation between the schools that do well with reclassification and the parent involvement that we were discussing earlier?
David Brewer: Yes. There is a correlation there.
Tim Cavanaugh: Then when we talk about successful and unsuccessful schools, and concentrating on the unsuccessful schools, is there a missing element in school choice, in that underperforming schools are not allowed to fail? That maybe some schools should just be allowed to go down to the point that they go out of business and the people who still go to those schools, who are left at those schools, are required to go somewhere else, where hard work and achievement are considered the norm?
David Brewer: Uh...try that again.
Tim Cavanaugh: Should some schools be allowed to fail?
Jim Newton: And then send those kids to places that don't fail?
David Brewer: Yeah, that's what I thought you said. Ha ha! That... No, no. Our job, my job is to make sure they don't fail. Why? Because there's a neighborhood component to this. OK. But this is a very interesting phenomenon. That's why I hesitated on this. Because some people are already voting with their feet. The 20,000 drop in enrollment, a large part of that was economic migration and some of it is just folks moving out of the system. But of the 20,000 reduction in enrollment, 6,000 was because they went to charter.
David Hiller: I thought they closed bad, and I thought it was under No Child Left Behind.
David Brewer: They can.
David Hiller: And I thought they closed bad schools, my recollection was in Chicago.
David Brewer: They can.
David Hiller: I think they closed a bunch of them. And it's a big controversial thing because, you know, they're neighborhood-based. But, you know, what's worse? Just continuing to send kids to failing schools or declaring Hey, time's up on that school, time to blow it up and start again.
Tim Cavanaugh: Not in so many words maybe...
David Hiller: No, in so many words. Arnie Duncan got crucified in some places, and you know what? Within a year the parents and students were back in schools that were better, including — some of them were charter schools, and now you've got a lot of parents saying all right, now life is better.
David Brewer: Reconstitution is an option, David. And I'm not saying that's off the table with me if we don't get what we want. Reconstitution is an option. Now, reconstitution has been tried in this district before. So you know, again, that's the politics of L.A. And I think that's why...well, Joel, you probably have a better feel for this than I do.
Joel Rubin: Well whether he knows it or not, he just quoted you. When you and I talked about reconstitution you said, "Blow it up."
David Brewer: That's right. Reconstitution is an option. I'm not backing...
Jim Newton: It's one the district has never availed itself of.
David Brewer: Again, I go back to the past. When this was tried before. I think Cochran Middle School this was tried before. I've been told. So I say, what happened? Cochran's still a high-priority school. You can reconstitute, but one of the things about No Child Left Behind is that the collective bargaining agreement allows teachers to follow their students. And so No Child Left Behind will not trump a local collective bargaining agreement.... It's not that it trumps federal law, it's that federal law has to respect collective bargaining agreements.
JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM AIMS TO EASE TENSIONS, BROADEN HORIZONS
reported by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | from KPCC-FM
November 20, 2007 - Two and a half years ago, a series of racially charged brawls broke out at Jefferson High School in South Los Angeles. In their aftermath, the school district overhauled administration at the campus and poured resources into the school. KPCC's Adolfo Guzman-Lopez reports on a new program at the campus intended to ease racial tensions and encourage college going.
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: For one week, all of Jefferson's 650 ninth graders visited college campuses, deconstructed prejudice at L.A.'s Museum of Tolerance, and relied on each other in a survival course.
A few dozen students gathered in the high school library to share what they learned from all this. Ninth grader Giovani Weare filtered his impressions through a poem.
Giovani Weare: I am from a world of hatred, I am from a world of backstabbing, I am from a place where people live without a life. I am from a world where shooting is no surprise, I am from being a scrub, to a young man, to a high schooler. I am from overcoming my fear. I am from me and me only. I am gonna make the greatest achievement ever known.
[Sound of applause]
Guzman-Lopez: Fourteen-year-old Ricardo Hernandez said he realized that other lives might be possible for him.
Ricardo Hernandez: I learned so much about myself and other people. I learned that you don't have to be a gang banger, or a tagger, or any of those bad things to be accepted in our community and in our schools.
Guzman-Lopez: The mostly black and Latino neighborhood around Jefferson is in Congressman Xavier Becerra's district. Becerra told the students at this assembly about his working class roots, his work as a federal lawmaker, and the important role college played in moving him between the two. After that talk, Becerra said adults need to offer more time and attention to help young people succeed.
Congressman Xavier Becerra: To do something like this program is a very minor way of letting kids know: We think about you, we think you can succeed, and guess what? Someone sees that talent in you as well.
Guzman-Lopez: Jefferson's student brawls a couple of years ago led to a lot of civic hand-wringing about race relations. The fights also pulled the curtain back on a campus most L.A. Unified administrators had ignored for a long time.
Senior Samuel Guzman mentored ninth graders in this program. He said that's because he witnessed the meltdown at his school.
Samuel Guzman: I mean, at first it was just complete shock, you know, complete just pandemonium everywhere, you know? But after it sinks in, you know, you just realize how much responsibility you have to make it better, you know? You realize that nobody else is going to do it.
Guzman-Lopez: L.A. Unified officials felt they could make it better by re-assigning principal Juan Flecha from Eagle Rock High to Jefferson. Crime and poverty, Flecha said, still affect most of his students.
Juan Flecha: Youngsters in our community are not exposed to the greater Los Angeles community. And going from here to the Museum of Tolerance, and even up the street to the California African American Museum, has been an eye-opening experience for them, and in a lot of cases, one that has never been given to them.
Guzman-Lopez: Flecha said he'll have to apply that same approach to exposing every student to the human relations program. For now, he's hoping to expand it to include ninth and tenth graders.
YOUTH GROUP LEADERS LAMENT FEES FOR USING FIELDS +THE PRIVATE SCHOOL FACILITIES ARM RACE
by Gary Walker | The Argonaut (Marina del Rey, Playa del Rey, Mar Vista, Westchester, Venice & Santa Monica)
Nov. 15, 2007 - Officials of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will begin to implement a plan early next year to charge youth groups a fee for the use of the district's playing fields and recreation facilities.
According to Tim Bower, director of Beyond the Bell, the branch of the school district charged with overseeing all district after-school programs, the policy has always been in place to assess fees to outside organizations that participate in activities on school district grounds.
"The state Education Code requires school districts, through the Civic Center Permit Act, to make their facilities available to the public," Bower said. "[Instituting the fee policy] is merely a recapture of these fees."
The district has established a three-tiered classification system for the various groups that participate in nonschool-related activities on school grounds. Some organizations will remain exempt from paying fees, while others will have to pay what district officials say are modest assessments.
Youth and nonprofit organizations that have youngsters from the school district as participants that use the gymnasium or playing fields at district schools will be required to pay a one-time $77.10 fee for a permit to use the facilities and a $5 fee for custodial supplies.
"The groups must be organized for the promotion of youth activities," said Bower.
The second tier of organizations will consist of groups that do not have students from the school district. These organizations will be assessed $25.50 an hour, along with the permit and custodial charges.
District officials contend that they are not alone in assessing fees when their facilities are used. The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks and other school districts charge for outside organizations to use their facilities, Bower noted.
Advisory councils, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and PTA groups that use school classrooms or libraries for meetings are exempt.
Brent Whittlesey, area director for the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), says he has discussed the impact that the new charges for practicing and playing on school district fields will have on the organization.
"This will certainly make it more difficult to offer soccer programs at a reasonable rate," said the area director.
Children who play baseball with the North Venice Little League might be forced to cut down on practice time, said Kim Eyler, a board member of the baseball league.
"Having to pay these fees will be very costly for us," said Eyler, the league's treasurer.
Bower said that the district has provided after-school activities for youngsters since 1915, so the district has a commitment to after-school and recreational programs.
"We offer a variety of free after-school and weekend activities," said Bower. "And we will continue to do so."
School district officials say the fees will pay for the district employees who open the facilities on weekends, when a majority of youth and nonschool-related events occur.
Bower said that the request to charge organizations fees came from the office of school district superintendent David Brewer and did not go before the school board for approval. When asked why, he replied, "We are implementing what the board permits us to do."
Eyler said that last year the district told the North Venice Little League that it might charge the organization for the use of its athletic fields, but it ultimately did not.
"We have been granted permits for next February, so now we're just waiting to see what happens next," she said.
Both Whittlesey and Eyler agree that the requirement to pay the district fees probably translates into an extra financial burden for their organizations.
"One [AYSO] region will have to pay an additional $15,000 in order to be able to participate in youth soccer," Whittlesey lamented.
Children who reside in lower-income areas are the ones who stand to be most harmed, says Whittlesey.
"In Central Los Angeles, where we have at least 600 kids registered, they may have to raise registration fees" to offset the new costs, he said. "These kids are at risk of being priced out of a program [due to the district's new policy]."
Sharon Commins, a Mar Vista resident who is active in youth soccer, agreed.
"I think it's reasonable to charge a prorated fee for organizations that wish to use LAUSD facilities," she said. "But I'm not sure what kind of message it sends to kids and their families if these fees are not affordable for a lot of these kids."
The North Venice Little League uses the district's Mark Twain Elementary School for some of its practices. The number of youngsters who use these fields is significant, and league officials will have to factor this new dynamic in with the necessity of using the ball fields.
"We have 400 to 500 kids that play on six fields, five days a week," Eyler explained. The new costs associated with using district facilities "could be very significant for us," Eyler added. "We knew that there was a possibility [of LAUSD charging fees next year], and it will have a big impact on us."
Whittlesey finds it ironic that the youths who stand to feel the strain the most are the ones that are least likely to be able to afford the new fees.
"Particularly in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Culver City, kids pay little or nothing to use athletic facilities," he pointed out. "It's disappointing that the kids who live in Los Angeles will have to pay higher fees to use the school district's athletic facilities."
_________________________
THE PRIVATE SCHOOL FACILITIES ARM RACE
Monday, November 19, 2007, by Marissa Gluck from Curbed LA
It seems LA's public schools aren't the only ones buildings bright, shiny new facilities for the young 'uns. Sure, the $600 million building boom currently taking place within the hallowed halls of LA's private schools is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the billions (yes, billions) the LAUSD is now spending to build new schools. A couple of LAUSD schools will have some nifty features like space-age theaters, but will they have an aquatic center? Private schools looking to attract the offspring of rich Brentwood parents are building new aquatic centers, "that looks like a modern equivalent of the Greco-Roman baths of ancient Alexandria" (naked same-sex wrestling not included), new libraries with digital media studios and firepits, and science labs with all the newest equipment (for making your own crystal-meth). While private schools are working to remain competitive with new facilities, some detractors feel the money may be better spent financial aid and higher teacher salaries. Surprisingly, these schools are feeling the heat not just from each other, but also from LAUSD's investment in new schools: "private educators are looking over their shoulders at the government funds pouring into public school improvements and the potential competition from public charter schools, which are attracting curious families who previously might have selected private education."
EVENTS: Save the date + Coming up next week...
SAVE THE DATE: City of Los Angeles • Department of Public Works presents the
CITYWIDE YOUTH CONFERENCE • MILLION TREES LA • THINKING AND ACTING GREEN
Date: Saturday, December 8, 2007
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
(Registration starts 7AM • Program start time: 9AM)
Location: Los Angeles Convention Center West Hall (Yorty Hall)
1201 South Figueroa Street, LA CA 90015
Admission is FREE for youth ages 12 to 21
The Citywide Youth Conference on Global Warming and Climate Change will
inform youth why this is a crisis and what they can do to take action. It will encourage
them to think green and provide them the tools they need to take action in schools,
communities, and careers.
Youth will participate in a panel presentation and discussion focused on the theme
of THINKING AND ACTING GREEN in schools, communities, and careers. Each
panel will be comprised of six presenters representing schools, communities, and careers.
Panelists include students who are presidents of environmental clubs at their schools,
youth who have built community gardens, and individuals who work in industries like
forestry. The panels will run approximately fifty to sixty minutes. Each presenter will get
five minutes to talk about their project or career. After hearing the presentations the
audience will get to participate in a twenty minutes Q&A session.
After the panel sessions the students will get the opportunity to go to our green
fair. We will have numerous booths and exhibits where the students can learn about
different green industries. They will also have a chance to sign up and volunteer for
environmental causes. The conference will not only offer information but opportunities
for environmental activism through community organizations, volunteering, service
learning, and career/education tracks.
For more information, contact Gabriela Ortiz at 213.473.9950 or visit www.lacity.org
► A bus will be provided for schools or organizations that can fill a bus (52 ppl) within the city of Los Angeles. Make note that a adult chaperone has to be present for all buses.
Bus info: Sonya.Calloway@lacity.org
________________________________________
Monday Nov 26, 2007
SOUTH REGION SPAN K-8 #1: Special Community Update Meeting
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Banning High School - Auditorium
1527 Lakme Ave.
Wilmington, CA 90744
Monday Nov 26, 2007
WHITE HOUSE PLACE PC: Pre-Demolition Meeting
6:00 p.m.
White House Place Primary Center
108 S. Bimini Place
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Tuesday Nov 27, 2007
CENTRAL REGION MIDDLE SCHOOL #7: Remedial Action Plan (RAP) Meeting
6:00 p.m.
20th Street Elementary School
1353 E. 20th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90011
Wednesday Nov 28, 2007
SOUTH REGION HIGH SCHOOL #6: Presentation of Recommended Preferred Site
At this meeting we will present and discuss the site that will be recommended to the LAUSD Board of education for this new school project.
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Washington Preparatory High School
10860 S. Denker Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90047
Thursday Nov 29, 2007
WILLIAM R. ANTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Groundbreaking Ceremony
PLEASE JOIN US TO CELEBRATE THE GROUNDBREAKING OF A NEW COMMUNITY SCHOOL!
Ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m.
William R. Anton Elementary School (aka Central Region Elementary School #19)
831 N. Bonnie Brae Place
Los Angeles, CA 90063
Thursday Nov 29, 2007
SOUTH REGION HIGH SCHOOL #8: Presentation of Recommended Preferred Site
At this meeting we will present and discuss the site that will be recommended to the LAUSD Board of education for this new school project.
6:00 p.m.
Maywood Academy High School
6125 Pine Ave.
Maywood, CA 90270
________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-893-6800
What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383
Marlene.Canter@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Julie.Korenstein@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Schwarzenegger: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• Register.
• Vote.
|
