Welcome to L.A. Taco’s teachers strike coverage, where we will be covering the latest UTLA strike developments.
(Photo by Brian Feinzimer)
Wednesday, 5:29pm PT
The teachers strike is happening because of Superintendent Austin Beutner and School Board policy of not contradicting him publicly during the negotiations, according to L.A. Unified School Board Member Scott M. Schmerelson.
“I believe that there are resources available to end this strike,” Schmerelson said in a statement. “What I do not see from Austin Beutner, and his supporters, is the political will to substitute constructive negotiations for the fear mongering, expensive taxpayer funded ads, slanted editorials, and endless press conferences.”
Schmerelson’s statement comes on the heels of the news that school attendance dropped 22 percent from already tiny numbers the previous two days. Only about 132,000 students of the 600,000 plus in the district attended Wednesday. Since 90 percent of school funding comes from attendance, this represents a huge financial hit for the district. L.A. Unified estimates its losses at about $70 million.
Update on @LASchools attendance as strike continues: https://t.co/9oiYKdJNsO pic.twitter.com/EUGX4C9ipH
— L.A. Unified (@LASchools) January 17, 2019
Read the full story on this latest development here: L.A. School Board Member Breaks Ranks to Support Striking Teachers, Blames Beutner as District Losses
Wednesday, 12:05pm PT
The majority of people in Los Angeles support the striking teachers, according to an ongoing study by Loyola Marymount University. About 53 percent of people surveyed said they “strongly support” the teachers’ actions to walkout of the classroom. Another 24 percent say they “somewhat support” the strike. On the other side, 10.5 and 12.6 “somewhat oppose” or “strongly oppose” respectively.
LMU’s sample size is 425 people who were given the following prompt: “Last August, LAUSD teachers voted to authorize a strike if labor negotiations cannot reach an agreement. Would you support LAUSD teachers going on strike this January to meet their demands?”
The released data was from people asked prior to the actual walkout this week. The survey will continue throughout January.
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