Charters vs. LAUSD

After more than two hours of debate, the Los Angeles Unified School District board voted to renew the charter for Discovery Prep in Pacoima for a year. Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

Then, a short time later, frustrated, tired and confused, the board negated its vote and postponed a new decision until later.

Charter renewal for Woodland Hills' Ivy Academia was next on the agenda and got a one-year extension after 20 minutes of discussion.

The trouble is Ivy - LAUSD's highest-performing independent charter school - lost out on a $1.2 million state grant that required a longer extension.

Those are just examples of issues facing LAUSD as it deals with the booming charter school movement.

The school board lacks a coherent policy toward charters so its actions are often arbitrary even as the debate on education reform becomes increasingly politicized.