Cortines blocks fee for athletes

Los Angeles Unified School District's superintendent vowed Thursday not to impose donation requests on the parents of athletes, overturning a fundraising plan reluctantly advanced by sports administrators. Melissa Pamer and Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

District officials had said earlier this week that LAUSD would for the first time ask parents to contribute $24 per student to bridge a $650,000 gap in the budget for transportation to and from games. If insufficient funds were raised, games could have been canceled, officials said.

But Superintendent Ramon Cortines said Thursday that he did not know about the plan, and he ordered the request rescinded.