Friday, October 8, 2010

L.A. teachers union may fight board decision to halt layoffs | California Watch

L.A. teachers union may fight board decision to halt layoffs | California Watch

L.A. teachers union may fight board decision to halt layoffs

A landmark agreement to halt teacher layoffs at Los Angeles schools serving disadvantaged children is now facing opposition from an unlikely source: the biggest local teachers union in the state.

The United Teachers Los Angeles is considering suing to block the layoff-ending settlement made on Tuesday with the L.A. school board, the ACLU and a coalition of other public-interest attorneys, according to the L.A.

College district hires inspector general to review construction

The Los Angeles Community College District has hired an outside firm to set up an Office of Inspector General and a whistle-blower program to review "financial integrity and legal compliance" of the district's $6 billion construction program and to receive any information about "potentially illegal activity, fraud, waste or corruption,” district officials announced this week.

The district hired Altadena-based Policy Masters Inc., and CEO Christine E. Marez will oversee the efforts.

"By employing an inspector general who reports directly to us, the board will be improving our oversight of the

After downturn, California's birth rate predicted to climb

Following a sharp decline in births during the recession, the number of babies born in California is expected to grow more than 12 percent over the next decade, according to a recent projection by the state.

The Demographic Research Unit's report, which is used to predict public school enrollment, received little media attention when it was released last month. But the projection shows how the demographics of birth – the age and race of mothers, where babies are born and the state's overall fertility rate – will change in the next 10 years.