This Week In Education: #LAUSD: The Story Behind John Deasy's Mystifying Labor Deal

This Week In Education: #LAUSD: The Story Behind John Deasy's Mystifying Labor Deal:

#LAUSD: The Story Behind John Deasy's Mystifying Labor Deal

from This Week In Education by Alexander Russo

A couple of days ago on a Souther California Public Radio station talk show, two longtime education reform allies, LAUSD superintendent John Deasy and former LAUSD board member Yolie Flores, got into their first public disagreement. There with UTLA head Warren Fletcher to discuss the proposed new UTLA / LAUSD agreement, Deasy and Flores disagreed over whether the proposed deal would gut the accountability and competition elements that were key to 2009 Flores' Public School Choice initiative, a two year-old program that gave low performing schools over to new groups including outside charter organizations.

Deasy, UTLA, E4E, Randi Weingarten, and others have lined up behind the deal. Charter organizations, some LA teachers, and reformers including Ben Austin and Mike McGalliard have criticized it sharply. (See previous post for news coverage and comments.) While Deasy says his deal retains PSC, Flores told me in an interview last night that the deal "completely undercuts" PSC. "It eradicates the entire intent and purpose of PSC which is to use