Author: Sara Roos

LAUSD7: Big Political Interests Control LAUSD’s Southern Ports District 7 (Election News, March 3, 2020)

Originally published January 13, 2020

Big political interests are big:  Yep, we all know this, but until a tiny little just-me person comes up against their fighting power it’s hard to comprehend.

Money to candidates comes in two flavors (see graphics here):  (a) that which is controlled by the candidate him/herself, and (b) that which the candidate has no control of, collected and spent by “independent expenditure committees” (IECs) “outside” the campaign.

While the really big shenanigans are contained within IEC expenditures, it turns out campaign donations can be useful indicators of “who” a candidate is, where and among whom their support lies; who considers them a worthy early investment, who chips in downstream.

These monies can even give clues as to regional culture and characteristics. Which is very useful considering the vastness of Los Angeles Unified’s school district (LAUSD), carved into just seven political zones of representation, mapped here. LAUSD encompasses 710 square miles including 26 municipalities and unincorporated areas of LA County, in which 100 different languages are spoken. Divide that by 7 as a rough estimate of what goes on in your particular district, and it’s no wonder if you have no clue of its diversity never mind what’s happening in the next one over.

Continue reading “LAUSD7: Big Political Interests Control LAUSD’s Southern Ports District 7 (Election News, March 3, 2020)”

LAUSD By Some Numbers

First published June, 2019. All figures open separately by clicking on the header or caption.

The largest school district in America with an elected school board, LAUSD (the “District”) is vast indeed.  It is hard to get one’s head around how big. And it’s hard to understand what’s involved, never mind ubiquitously presumed, when outcome or performance metrics such as “excellence” or poverty or enrollment drain are casually discussed.

The District publishes interesting “fingertip facts” every year that attests at 710 square miles, it covers an area 41% greater than the City of Los Angeles (CoLA). Eighteen cities are partially covered by its footprint and 8 lie entirely within the District.

What Schools?

Just the simple number of schools within its footprint is astonishing.  The whole conversation surrounding “traditional district” and charter schools of either variety – “affiliated” and “independent” – begs the question of the system’s diversity, not just in the student population but in the kinds of schools operated. Beyond K-12 elementary, middle and high schools, operating as charters and “Alternative Schools of Choice” (e.g., magnet schools among others), are Special Education programs, Adult and Trade/Tech programs, and four kinds of schools that address specialized scholastic needs such as education for the incarcerated or otherwise academically at-risk.

Diversity of LAUSD-area school types

dist-of-school-types-by-magnet-and-district-status


What Authorizers?

The one thousand+ schools listed here for 2018-19 include some public schools operating within LAUSD’s footprint, that are not also under their direct jurisdiction. There are schools operated by and also chartered by Los Angeles County, and there are schools chartered by the State of California as well.

Authorization and management of school types

School-types-in-LAUSD-territory

Continue reading “LAUSD By Some Numbers”