Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Agreement restores some non-teaching jobs at L.A. schools - latimes.com

Agreement restores some non-teaching jobs at L.A. schools - latimes.com:

Agreement restores some non-teaching jobs at L.A. schools

Photo: Library aide Mary Bates reads "The Giving Tree" to kindergarten and first grade students in the library at Burton Elementary School in Panorama City. She works six hours a week and LAUSD wanted to cut her to three hours a week. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles TimesNon-teaching employees have ratified an agreement that restores well over 200 jobs at Los Angeles-area schools, but hundreds of others will remain without a job or will continue to work at reduced pay.

The agreement, announced Tuesday, settles for this year a contract dispute between the Los Angeles Unified School District and the California School Employees Assn., which represents such workers as office clerks, financial managers and library aides.

The deal means that every middle school will have at least one six-hour library aide. Middle schools also wi


L.A. Unified opens applications for magnet schools, other programs for 2012-13

Photo: Students at LAUSD's Bravo Medical Magnet High School stand in line for their lunches. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Unified School District began accepting applications for magnet schools and other programs for the 2012-13 school year Tuesday -- but forms will not be mailed home this year.

Instead, parents are being encouraged to apply online. The district created a new, web-based system at https://parentaccess.lausd.net/Dashboard.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fDefault.aspx that will provide access to a variety of online tools, such as enrollment and transfer forms, meal and medical programs, emergency card updates, magnet program applications and other services.

A limited number of English- and Spanish-language printed forms will be available the week of Nov. 1 at city libraries, schools and local district offices. Translations in other languages can be obtained from local schools or downloaded from the website.

Elimination of home mailings is expected to save the district about $250,000 this year.