Protesters push for changes at LAUSD
Facing a groundswell of anger and frustration, members of the Los Angeles Unified School board received an earful from two different groups Tuesday, one demanding a new contract for teachers and the other pushing the district to rehire laid-off employees.
About 30 teachers, parents and others gathered at City Hall as part of Occupy LAUSD, calling themselves an offshoot of the Occupy Los Angeles movement.
Their message was to get more teachers back in the classroom, reopen libraries and add more nurses. They also opposed the district's Public School Choice, which allows outside groups to take over a failing school.
"There's a big tie-in here," said David Rapkin, an English teacher at a South L.A. LAUSD alternative high school. "It says you've bailed out the banks, bailed out the corporations, (but) schools and public services are starving