The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Education voted 6-1 (our board member, Tamar Galatzan was the lone dissenting vote) in favor of a recommendation by the superintendent to remove 23 schools from Title I status for 2012-13. The move, which could mean a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars per school, was prompted by another year of projected decline in the amount of federal Title I money allocated to the LAUSD.
Impacted schools include Nobel Middle School, Germain, Knollwood, Millikan Middle School, Nestle, Superior, Dearborn, and Hamlin.
Currently, the District allows schools to receive Title I funds if a minimum of 40 percent of the student population qualify for the free and reduced lunch program. Under the new rules, the threshold has been increased to 50 percent.
“I recognize that this move places an added financial burden on schools already reeling from the ongoing budget crisis,” said Superintendent of the LAUSD John Deasy. “The severe cut in Title I funding from Washington leaves us no choice but to take this action.” He said the move is expected to reallocate $4.9 million to schools above the new poverty threshold of 50 percent. View full article in Valley Voice.
