Schools: September 2007 Archives

Hundreds of nonprofit youth groups in the San Fernando Valley and across the city would have to pay to use Los Angeles Unified facilities and athletic fields under plans quietly set to launch next year. Naush Boghossian at the Daily News.

The move comes just two years after district officials abandoned similar efforts after a broad public outcry that it could force youth groups to cancel thousands of worthwhile after-school events.

Superintendent David Brewer III, who is reviewing the options, said a fee is needed to offset the $3.8 million a year the district pays for utilities, maintenance and other costs involved in making the facilities available.

"We're one of only very few school districts that do not charge, including the city, so all we're doing is coming in line with everybody else," Brewer said.

After years of declining enrollment, Los Angeles-area community colleges are seeing a surge in students, fueled by relatively low tuition costs, a slowing economy and increased outreach. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Across the nine-campus Los Angeles Community College District, enrollment is up 7 percent this year, officials said.

Mission College's 16 percent increase is the largest in the system. Meanwhile, Pierce College enrollment jumped 8 percent from last year and Valley College is kicking off the school year with 6 percent more students than last year.

Hoping to fix the disastrous payroll system that has overpaid or underpaid thousands of employees for nearly a year, the Los Angeles Unified School District board Tuesday agreed to spend $9.8 million on a new consultant. Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

Board member Tamar Galatzan said the unanimous vote to hire Atlanta-based EPI-USE was rushed, but necessary.

"I certainly don't want to throw good money after bad, but we have to fix this system, and we have to look at every resource out there to fix it," Galatzan said. "I'm concerned that the board didn't get a copy of this contract to review until (Monday) afternoon."

LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer said Tuesday that it would take until July if the district tried to fix the massive computer glitches on its own.

Hundreds of thousands of students are scheduled to stream back into Los Angeles Unified schools today for the start of the fall session as the district grapples with declining enrollment and the sixth year of a massive construction program. Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

A projected 700,000 students will be enrolled in the LAUSD this year - official figures are expected in October - down from last year's 708,000, officials said Tuesday.

The slipping student figures come, however, as the district has built 67 new schools and still has 77 to go in its $19.2 billion construction program - the largest public-works program in the nation.

Los Angeles Unified elementary and high schools showed gains in their state test scores that outpaced the rest of California, but middle schools leveled off as goals continued to get more challenging, a California Department of Education report released Friday said.Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

The district also did not meet its graduation goals: The graduation rate dropped 2.8 percentage points from last year, to 62.8 percent.

San Fernando Valley schools continued to outperform their districtwide peers. The Valley is home to most of the schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District with the target score of 800 and above on the state's Academic Performance Index.