Because of it’s size and Federal funding (especially through Title 1), WLM is a little more insulated from the budget cuts than some other schools.  But even at WLM, a few teachers received lay-off notices.  Apparently, these notices are part of a union/district process and won’t necessarily go into effect. The Federal economic stimulus bill is meant to prevent drastic lay-offs and program cuts. (Click on the link to read more about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and how it will affect education.) But this is an important issue facing public education in Los Angeles, and I think the district should start getting used to listening to input from parents.

Join fellow parents and concerned citizens:

Rally to Fight for the Future of Public Education

Tuesday, March 24th  11am–3pm
(During the school board meeting)
In front of LAUSD School Board Offices
333 S. Beaudry, Los Angeles CA  90017

Thousands of LAUSD teachers have been pink slipped. Let the policy makers know that we are no longer going to sit down and let them deprive our children of a decent education!

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Here is some detailed information about the rally from Bill Ring, Organizer of Parent Community Advisory Council:

Folks -  Ca. Ed Code requires that seniority is the primary factor in determining who gets laid off first. As parents, we must make our case to legislators as well as to the various collective bargaining units when contract proposals are “sunshined” – and this is why we MUST demand that the LAUSD Sunshine Committee be reinstated.

By the way, I asked the District’s HR and Operations people last month how the decision to notify (and possibly layoff) teachers and other employees would be handled at schools. I was particularly interested in how employees at i-Design, charters and pilot schools would be affected – and how schools with school-based management (SBM)
waivers and PHBAO (Primarily Hispanic, Black, Asian and Other) schools (counselor loads, etc.) would be affected.

I still have not had a response to that query. We need answers!

Supt. Cortines offered employees early retirement (and a bonus for taking it) and the District was surprised by the number of employees (over 2500) who responded. The window on the offer closed but he reopened it to meet additional interest in the plan. This action alone will significantly affect the number of employees that need to be laid off.

The District’s own government affairs office has confirmed that the federal stimulus money (expected within weeks) will enable LAUSD to keep some 7,000 people working in addition to providing jobs for 9,000 in facilities. We need to ensure that the stimulus money that we DO get goes to keep teachers working and school sites intact even if  it means that due to ed code and collective bargaining some employees really should find  other work. We need our eyeballs on the stimulus funds that come to LAUSD and on  each stage of the distribution of those funds. This was among the points I raised at the  last two school board meetings and I will raise them again this coming Tuesday.

Which reminds me – during this planned rally, the school board will be meeting in the boardroom at the Beaudry building. The meeting starts at 1PM. The agenda for the meeting is here:

http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/board/secretary/3-24-09regbdAgenda.pdf

Note Item 21, the Superintendent’s budget and initial personnel recommendations. As parents, we can sign up to speak to these items. If you are making plans to be at Beaudry for the rally anyway, take a minute Monday morning to call the Board Secretariat’s office (213-241-7002) and ask to be added to the list of speakers to Item 21 (public comment is already full) and then prepare what you  want to tell the Superintendent and the Board (you’ll be given 3 minutes).  If you have petitions, bring them. If there are other parents who can come with
you to the rally, it would be great to bring them in when the Board takes up Item 21.  I’d like to see the boardroom full of parents – standing as we speak to the Superintendent and the Board, one by one, with hundreds of other parents standing up at their seats while we all address Cortines and the Board of Ed.

Wear pink if want to show your support of the teachers.

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