Faced with a massive budget deficit, the governor wants to stop state funding for a week of classes. Educators criticize the plan as most harmful to poor students.

By Seema Mehta (LA Times)

A proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to shorten the school year by five days is creating panic among educators across California, who say they barely have enough time to fit the state’s academic standards into the existing 180-day calendar.

The idea to cut funding equivalent to five school days would save $1.1 billion at a time when California faces a massive budget deficit. But state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell called the proposal “devastating.”

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No successor is named, but Ramon Cortines is expected to lead the school district, at least for the interim.

By Jason Song and Howard Blume  (LA Times)

The Los Angeles Board of Education voted Tuesday to pay at least $517,500 to buy out Supt. David L. Brewer midway through his four-year contract to run the nation’s second-largest school system.

No successor was named, but board members and other civic leaders have said they expect that the No. 2 administrator, Ramon C. Cortines, will be offered the job at least on an interim basis.

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Note: I found this to be an interesting read considering my pops is an educator (LAUSD) and works within a magnet program.

The programs have frequently achieved their goal of voluntary integration and high-quality academic programs, a report says. But funding is stagnating, partly due to nation’s budget woes.

By Howard Blume (LA Times)

Support for magnet schools has foundered nationwide even though they continue to shine compared to other types of public schools, including charters, researchers concluded in a report released today.Magnet programs, created to promote voluntary integration, have suffered court setbacks, stagnant federal funding and local budget cuts.

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