More money, more problems? LA Unified wrestles with influx of cash
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
A Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education meeting
Several new funding streams are rushing into Los Angeles schools this year. Even though students hit the books again last week, Los Angeles Unified School District leaders are only now finalizing plans on where to channel funds.
On Tuesday, board members and union representatives expressed concern about how quickly the money was coming in and going out.
“How will we know we are on track?” asked school board member Monica Garcia. “We have a budget, we have this plan - how will know if we are moving the way we want to move? And, how is this investment going to support the change in culture we are trying to see?”
The principal source of new funding is coming from the state to help implement Common Core – a new national set of learning standards that emphasize critical thinking over simple memorization. L.A. Unified will receive $113 million to fund teacher training, new technology and materials over the next two years.
L.A. Unified officials said 75 percent of that will be used for professional development, a large chunk of which will go to salaries for some 200 teacher coaches at schools.
Most other California school districts will be spending a substantial portion of their Common Core cash - which comes out to about $200 a student - on computers and networks needed to run new digital tests. L.A. Unified, on the other hand, is covering many of those technical needs with capital from voter-approved construction bonds