Teams from the teachers union and the L.A. Unified School District are working long hours this weekend to settle a teachers’ strike that has so far cost students five days of normal instruction.
Hopes have been rising for a quick resolution but some already are expressing anxiety about what could be included in a settlement. Teachers are concerned that whatever gains they achieve — in smaller classes and better school staffing — could be too little or too short-lived. Advocates worry that the best interests of students could take a back seat to political exigencies. And administrators fret that the district — in trying to meet teachers’ demands — could take away some of the authority of principals.
For the record:
2:15 p.m. Jan. 21, 2019An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that L.A. Unified was setting aside $303 million from the district’s reserve for students targeted by the state for extra help. The correct amount is $323 million.
On Saturday, bargaining teams met at City Hall for nearly 12 hours, from 10:57 a.m. to 10:28 p.m. They resumed talks about 10:15 a.m. Sunday, 45 minutes earlier than scheduled.
The office of Mayor Eric Garcetti, which is mediating the talks, has been sending out the news of when they start and stop. With both sides honoring a new confidentiality agreement, that is just about the only information being released.
The long hours could be seen as an indication of serious intent to settle, perhaps even a sign of progress. They also suggest the difficulty of reaching a settlement in time for teachers to return to class Tuesday, after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
“Since Thursday they’ve stayed at the table and, as I understand it, the talks have been productive every day,” said state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who has been in contact with both sides. “They remain committed to staying at the table through the holiday and that’s a good thing. People are giving it their all.”
The broad outlines of the bargaining are well known. L.A. Unified has wanted the talks to be as narrow as possible, focusing on salary and a few proposals on each side. The union has put forward a more sweeping list of demands, including a greater role in decision-making — and has framed its fight as a struggle to safeguard the future of public education.
A coalition of community organizations sent a letter to both parties Saturday night, stressing that the interests of students need to remain front and center.
“We ask that you honor Dr. King’s legacy of compassion, justice and equity,” wrote the coalition, which included Community Coalition, InnerCity Struggle, Families in Schools and United Way of Greater Los Angeles. “We ask that you honor the role that we all play in supporting our highest-need youth with high-quality resources, personal attention, deep commitment and love.”
While it was written to both sides, the letter was meant as a diplomatic but very real warning to the nation’s second-largest school system.
These advocacy groups have accused the district of improperly spending new state funding designated for students who are from low-income families, are learning English or are in the foster-care system.
Community Coalition recently was a plaintiff in a lawsuit accusing the district of using this money for general expenses. L.A. Unified denied wrongdoing but agreed to redirect and better justify its use of the earmarked funding.
The funds in question include $323 million in the district’s nearly $2-billion current reserve. District officials have said some of this money could go toward settling the dispute with the teachers union, while also insisting that it would be spent properly — to benefit the targeted students.
Concerns also are being raised by the union that represents principals, Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, even though its members have found a lot of common cause with teachers.
Administrators also confront daily the teachers’ issues of large class sizes, part-time nurses and overworked counselors. They, too, worry about the growth of privately operated charter schools, and question the background of L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner — who has not run a school or a school district previously.
But the union parts company with UTLA over teachers’ demands for more authority at schools — at the expense of principals, as AALA President Juan Flecha wrote in its weekly newsletter.
The administrators union, he wrote, “is vehemently against UTLA’s proposals to castrate the little to almost no decision-making authority principals currently have.”
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Teachers and their supporters fill Grand Park during a rally after a tentative agreement wath LAUSD on smaller classes, new community schools, nurses and a raise.
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Erin Payne holds her daughter Olivia Johnson during a rally at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles. LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl announced a tentative deal today that could send teachers back to the classroom tomorrow, ending the first Los Angeles teachers strike in 30 years.
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Maida Salido, Aurora Mireles and Stephanie Flores, left to right, celebrate during a rally at Grand Park in Los Angeles.
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LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl announced a tentative deal today that could send teachers back to the classroom tomorrow, ending the first Los Angeles teachers strike in 30 years.
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Mallorie Evans, center, celebrates after an agreement between the teachers union and the LAUSD was reached Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles.
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Teachers celebrate after an agreement between the teachers union and the LAUSD was reached Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles.
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LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner, right, and United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl, left, with Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a tentative deal that could send teachers back to the classroom, ending the first Los Angeles teachers strike in 30 years.
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Thousands of teachers attend a UTLA rally in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.
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Tom Morello, center, with guitar, is joined on stage by Perry Farrell, of Jane’s Addiction, and Wayne Kramer, with MC5, with tan jacket, as members of the UTLA Marching Band perform, “This Land is Your Land,” in Grand Park.
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From left, Lisa Ynfante, Iris Marin, Janis Nuno and Mireya Gutierrez, all LAUSD teachers join thousands at a rally in Grand Park.
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Ignacio Gordillo, Dean at Gage Middle School, shouts to the lawmakers at Los Angeles City Hall as thousands of educators rally in Grand Park.
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Xavi Moreno, center, gets ready for a rally in Grand Park.
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Jackie Goldberg, teacher, former school board member, who also served on the L.A. City Council and in the state Legislature visits with teachers attend rally in Grand Park.
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UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl, left, introduce himself to 5th grader Aryana Fields from Playa Del Rey Elementary School at the rally in Grand Park.
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Austin Beutner, LAUSD Superintendent, right, and Monica Garcia, LAUSD President, provide an update on the UTLA strike in Los Angeles on Friday.
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Thousands of educators with the United Teachers Los Angeles attend a rally on the fifth day of the teachers strike in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.
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From left, teachers Rosa Martinez, Maricela Chaidez and Lillian Garcia chant and cheer with fellow teachers preparing for a rally in Grand Park in front of Los Angeles City Hall Friday.
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Kimberly Barrera, a 6th grade teacher, joins fellow teachers preparing for a rally in Grand Park in front of Los Angeles City Hall Friday.
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Thousands of educators with the United Teachers Los Angeles attend a rally on the fifth day of the teachers strike at Grand Park in front of City Hall in downtown Los Angeles.
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Anavelia Valencia, left, and Courtney Moore, right, teachers at 99th Street Elementary school, perform a “rain dance” on the picket line in South Los Angeles.
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Teachers picket in the middle of Sunset Blvd., at Gordon Street in Hollywood.
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Antonio Solis, right, a teacher with Hollywood Primary Center, and Kevin Savage, center, a teacher at Vine Street Elementary, join fellow educators on the picket line along Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.
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Louisa Stiles, 4, eats a slice of donated pizza on the picket line at Elysian Heights elementary school in Los Angeles.
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School attendance fell again in the fourth day of the LAUSD teachers’ strike. Oscar Garcia, left, and Yacob Eyob work on their iPads at Burroughs Middle School.
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The hallways of Elysian Heights Elementary were uncrowded on Thursday; outside, teachers and parents picketed.
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Westminster Elementary kindergarten teacher Jessica Dunn makes her case to passing motorists on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice on the third day of the LAUSD teachers’ strike.
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LAUSD teachers, parents and others protest in front of school board President Monica Garcia’s home in El Sereno.
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A police officer clears the road to allow a car to pass during a protest Wednesday night outside L.A. school board President Monica Garcia’s home.
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Kindergarten teacher Beth Clark is among picketers on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice during Day 3 of the teachers’ strike Wednesday.
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Student counselor Sandra Santacruz-Cervantes, center, pickets in a crosswalk outside Hollywood High School on Tuesday.
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Educators and supporters pack San Pedro Street in downtown Los Angeles at a rally outside the headquarters of the California Charter Schools Association.
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Janette Duran, from left, Lauren Maucere and Stephanie Johnson, all specialists at Marlton School for the deaf, cheer at a rally at the California Charter Schools Assn. in downtown Los Angeles.
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Student counselor Edwin Deleon, on a bicycle, joins parents, teachers and students in a crosswalk to picket outside Hollywood High School during the second day of the United Teachers Los Angeles strike.
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Students from Main Street School hold signs as teachers and supporters make their way through downtown Los Angeles to attend a rally at the California Charter Schools Assn.
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Parents, teachers and students picket outside Hollywood High School during the second day of the United Teachers Los Angeles strike.
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On the second day of teachers strike, the United Teachers Los Angeles rally outside California Charter Schools Assn. offices in Los Angeles.
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On the second day of teachers strike, the United Teachers Los Angeles rally outside California Charter Schools Assn. offices in Los Angeles.
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On the second day of teachers strike, the United Teachers Los Angeles rally outside California Charter Schools Assn. offices in Los Angeles.
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Elisabeth Mitchell, right, a kindergarten teacher at the Accelerated Schools, a community of public charter schools in South Los Angeles, joins fellow teachers as they picket outside the school on the second day of the teachers strike.
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Los Angeles Unified Supt. Austin Beutner addresses the media at LAUSD headquarters on the second day of the United Teachers Los Angeles strike.
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Stephanie Grace, center, and Lilly Diaz, right, teachers at The Accelerated Schools, a community of public charter schools in South Los Angeles cheer to passing vehicles as they join fellow teachers as they picket outside the school on second day of the teachers strike.
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UTLA President Alex Caputo Pearl, center, joins teachers on the picket line at The Accelerated Schools in South Los Angeles.
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Teachers at The Accelerated Schools, a community of public charter schools in South Los Angeles picket outside the school on second day of the teachers strike.
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UTLA teachers gather at city hall in downtown Los Angeles for a march and rally Monday, as they walked off the job in their first strike in 30 years.
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Corianne Cook, a teacher from Webster Middle School with her children, Ryn, 9, left, and Liam, 12, march to LAUSD district headquarters during the first day of the UTLA strike in Los Angeles.
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Mallorie Evans, center, an educational audiologist at Marlton School for the deaf, signs along with the speaker while Los Angeles Unified School District teachers and supporters gather at LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles.
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UTLA teachers marched from downtown Los Angeles to LAUSD headquarters Monday, January 14, 2019, as they walked off the job in their first strike in 30 years.
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A supporter for the UTLA strike sports a Superman cape in Los Angeles.
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Mari Enyart, 42, helps her son Was Enyart, 7, with school work while they spend their morning at a Starbucks Cafe in South Los Angeles on the first day of the strike.
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Reseda High students Roosevelt Jimenez, 17, left, and friend Kimberly Aquino, 17, right, sit in the school auditorium as UTLA teachers are out on strike in Reseda.
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Dr. Frances Gibson, Chief Academic Officer at the L.A. Unified School District, serves as a substitute teacher leading a language arts class at El Sereno Middle School.
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Teachers in a sea of umbrellas block 3rd and 4th streets over the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles as they marched to LAUSD Headquarters from City Hall on first day of the UTLA teachers strike.
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Aleida Aguilar, a first grader at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles, is guided by her mother through the picket line formed by teachers on first day of the Los Angeles school teachers strike.
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Counselor Leah Zeller leads teachers as they chant in the rain on the picket line at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles.
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Teachers in a sea of umbrellas march up 3rd street over the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles as they marched to LAUSD Headquarters.
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UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl organizes Los Angeles Unified School District teachers before marching from City Hall to LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles.
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Los Angeles School Superintendent Austin Beutner, right, with School Board President Monica Garcia, met with Geri Guzman, left, and family members of students before holding a press conference at LAUSD Headquarters.
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UTLA teachers arrive at Los Angeles to LAUSD headquarters near the 110 Freeway Monday, as they walked off the job in their first strike in 30 years.
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Reseda High School vice principal Phyllis Castaneda clicks through a slide presentation in the campus auditorium as students at the school are in the school auditorium and gym as UTLA teachers are out on strike in Reseda.
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Students picket at the entry of Carson Senior High School in Los Angeles.
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Students at Reseda High are in the school gym as UTLA teachers are out on strike in Reseda.
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Students join the picket line with striking teachers in Los Angeles.
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Teachers march towards LAUSD district headquarters during the first day of the strike in Los Angeles.
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Olivia Cali Gomez, 5, spends Monday morning learning what it means to go on strike, outside of Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles.
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Los Angeles Unified School District teachers and supporters march from City Hall to LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles.
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Irma Torres, center, teacher from Heliotrope Ave. Elementary School, attends a UTLA rally at Los Angeles City Hall.
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Teacher Shari Sakamoto, left, joins teachers marching on a picket line Monday morning at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on first day of the strike.
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Los Angeles Unified School District teachers and supporters gather at City Hall before marching to LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles.
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99th Street Elementary School Principal Marissa Borden, 43, fist bumps 5-year-old Samantha Carlos, while she and her two brother arrive at school in South Los Angeles on the first day of the strike.
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UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl, left, kicks off the LAUSD teachers’ strike at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles. <strong>More: <a href=”http://arstechnica.netblogpro.com/local/education/la-me-edu-los-angeles-teachers-strike-utla-president-20190114-story.html”>UTLA president calls for more money for teachers ‘in a city rife with millionaires.’</a></strong>
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Members of UTLA picket in heavy rain outside 99th Street Elementary School in South Los Angeles.
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Students join the picket line in support of the UTLA strike in Los Angeles.
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Mars Khan, 5, a transitional kindergarten student, carries a sign to support his mother, teacher Stefany Khan during a march in downtown Los Angeles.
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Teachers wave at passing vehicles on the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles as they marched to LAUSD district headquarters.
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Reseda High School students Jania Garcia, 16, left, and classmate Dennis Miguel, 16, work on a college prep app on laptops in the school gym in Reseda, Calif.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) At the negotiating table, the teachers’ union and the district have moved toward middle ground in the last two weeks.
The union, for example, has dropped a proposal for teachers to have more control over the amount of standardized testing of students.
For its part, the district has agreed to new hiring, a step in the direction of the union’s demand for “fully staffed” schools and smaller classes.
Class sizes are a good example of the complexity of the talks. The size of any given class varies by grade, by subject matter and even by type of program and funding source. The parties also must take into account both the average size of classes and the minimum and maximum sizes that would be allowed.
Besides determining what money is available and what it could pay for, there’s also a question of instructional benefit. Union leaders are under pressure to provide relief to teachers at all levels.
But some experts say the biggest benefit to students could come from making huge reductions in class size in a few key places, grades or subjects rather than making tiny reductions across the board.
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Twitter: @howardblume
