Protesting L.A. teachers arrested outside district offices

About 45 Los Angeles teachers and union leaders were arrested and booked for unlawful assembly outside school district headquarters today after they sat in the middle of the street and refused to move in an act of civil disobedience meant to protest possible layoffs.

Among those detained outside Los Angeles Unified District offices on Beaudry Street, between Third and Fourth streets, was L.A. teachers union leader A.J. Duffy. The protesters were warned four times by police via bullhorn to move out of the street before they were handcuffed. They were then led to a waiting Los Angeles Police Department bus.

The teachers' action was part of a protest against budget cuts that could include thousands of layoffs.

Schools throughout Los Angeles were disrupted today as thousands of teachers called in sick and hundreds of high school students walked out of classrooms to protest the budget cutbacks at the nation's second-largest school district.

Teachers said they planned to storm the district's headquarters and "jump on some desks" as an act of civil disobedience, according to a memo circulated to officials by schools Police Chief Lawrence Manion.

District officials said they did not plan to make arrests. But if arrests became necessary, they would let Los Angeles Police Department officers step in.

About 700 more teachers than usual called in sick today in the Los Angeles Unified School District, days after a judge ordered the teachers union to call off a planned one-day strike. Today's actions occurred despite a renewed warning from the judge against violations of his order.

On a normal Friday in May, about 2,300 of the district's 34,000 teachers would be out of class. Several hundreds of these are scheduled absences for school-related duties, such as meetings to update individual education plans for disabled students. But the overall call for substitute teachers was about one-third higher than normal.

The teachers' union Thursday requested hundreds of substitutes -- that it planned to pay for -- to allow selected teachers to leave class to participate in acts of civil disobedience, some of which were intended to lead to arrests.

A flier at one school called for teachers to put up anti-district posters on their classroom doors and to lead class discussions relevant to the labor dispute. This news was enough to send district officials hurrying back to court. L.A. County Superior Judge James C. Chalfant declined to issue a new order but warned that his original order remained in effect, according to district lawyers.

The union, United Teachers Los Angeles, has contended that its actions would not violate the court order.

Students have joined the fray, walking out of class at several high schools and holding sit-ins in support of teachers. About 500 students at Garfield High School in East L.A. walked out of campus this morning and sat in the central yard. Later, the students were moved to the bleachers, and a sound system was provided by the school so students could discuss why they didn't want teachers laid off. The group dispersed after a break and about 150 returned to the bleachers afterward.

At Jordan High School in South L.A., some 200 students gathered in the quad to show their solidarity with teachers and another 200 at Maywood Academy in Maywood walked out of class. Shortly after the nutrition bell rang at 11 a.m. at Franklin High School in Highland Park, hundreds of students chose not to return to their classrooms.

"We care about the teachers," Jasmine Guerrero, a senior, said in a phone interview. "But it's more about us. One teacher for 45 students, it's not a productive learning environment."

The mood was quiet this morning at Huntington Drive Elementary, an outpost on the district's eastern front, where Supt. Ramon C. Cortines sat in for Principal Roberto Salazar, who was attending his doctoral graduation at USC. Cortines arrived at El Sereno school shortly after 7 a.m. and after walking the campus, strode out front to talk with teachers picketing outside.

The union had scheduled pre-school picketing across L.A. Unified and a post-school rally in place of the strike to spare teachers the risk of $1,000 fines and the possible loss of their teaching credentials for violating the court order.

The presence of Cortines with picketers triggered rumors through the union network that Cortines was walking the line with teachers. That was not true, but he shook hands with each teacher, exchanged introductions and talked shop.

"You can't be doing this for a better principal," a teacher told him, thanking him for filling in. At least a dozen of the school's 45 teachers were picketing and cars honked their support as they drove past on busy Huntington Drive. Three teachers were absent. Student enrollment was normal for the school of 600 students.

Teachers at the school had voted strongly in support of the union's call for a one-day walkout, said faculty members, but some picketers also expressed relief that it would not be taking place.

"I did not want to walk out," said Maureen Barbosa, a special education preschool teacher who was walking the line. "But we also don't think our pay should be cut. I struggle to make a living and my husband could lose his job at any time."

She added that she could accept unpaid furlough days as a last resort. Cortines did not pass up the opportunity to launch a charm offensive.

"Obviously, the teachers here care about their kids," he said as he walked the asphalt playground. "You can see how much these children like their school."

Parent Adela Castellanas, who is taking a morning class for adults at the campus, also praised the school but told Cortines she was concerned about security at a middle school in the area.

UTLA has been vying to reverse the possible layoff of as many as 2,500 teachers. An additional 2,600 non-teachers also could lose their jobs under a budget plan aimed at closing a $596.1 million deficit. That projected deficit grew by about $250 million Thursday under the latest state budget revision from Gov. Schwarzenegger.

The union has demanded that L.A. Unified use as much federal stimulus money as needed to save jobs now. District officials have countered that the federal money has to last two years and that compensation concessions are needed to avoid layoffs, which would result in larger classes and reduced services across the district.

-- Howard Blume, Jason Song, Ruben Vives and Amanda Covarrubias

Comments

[Tommy D]

The reason we're in this mess is because our irresponsible legislators and governor have spent us into bankruptcy by increasing the budget over 40% in the last five years. They all belong in jail!

[Roman A]

"The teachers' union Thursday requested hundreds of substitutes
Yea, let’s throw tantrums,

You will get laid off, and I will VOTE NO on Prop 1, and happily home school my kids.

[Arthur Schneider]

Duffy has gone over the top. I am a teacher and I don't want my dues to pay for his legal defense. He has butted his inflated ego up against that of Cortines and stuck the working teachers in the middle. He should have known of the clause in the contract about no strikes. I am a teacher, not a lemming and I won't follow him to stand in the middle of traffic when the entire work force of the nation is suffering far worse then LAUSD teachers.

[Sarah]

wanting to throw everybody in jail for just about anything and for long sentences is another reason why California is in this mess. Cut the budget for the Department of Corrections, repeal outrageous policies like Three Strikes, reduce the number of imprisoned people, and invest the billions saved in California schools!!!

[SStaff]

At some point the teachers need to realize that our wonderful legislature has gotten us into this mess. Not because we as voters aren't willing to pay for schools, but because they (legislatures) steal from Peter to pay Paul. Our State Legislature should be ashamed. Its time to vote all of these people out and get common sense people.

[Big Jim Slade]

Quick, go find a SoCal aerospace worker and tell him your sad story...

Welcome to our world, LAUSD teachers! Admittedly you're 20 years late, but at least a lesson in basic capitalism is obviously in order. Think of it as a reward the 35% high school dropout rate and 49th state overall ranking.

The sad part is you're now last in line and the state's been sucked dry. Well, maybe a Times editorial writer will be dead last in line, writing their last column endorsing yet another idiotic Democratic legislator will spend us down the drain.

Where's Willie Brown, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, and Fabio Nunez when you need them now?

[Reality Master]

Big Jim got that one right!

[ross]

thiis teachers union are maxist people. And use children as tools

[Ivan]

Once again, the teachers show that their concern for the students is a charade. If the teachers were willing to accept less pay -- as many in the private sector have -- and were willing to give up their work rules that protect incompetent and criminal teachers, layoffs would be unnecessary.

[Mr. Mysterious]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4pN-aiofw

[Mary Pat McFinnegan]

Stimulus money is meant to spent now, not stashed away by Cortines until he decides Beaudry Avenue needs another parking lot or air- conditioned office...or he wants to waste 1.2 million moving classrooms for bankrupted small learning cummunities that exist only on paper...or for chauffeured limos...but nothing, nothing at all for the nationest poorest-funded school district, which now lags behind Mississippi in state educational spending..Shame on LAUSD. They should be embarrassed.

[Cherie]

Maybe it's time for the Teacher's Union to step up to the plate and renegotiate it's contracts with the State of California so that the money available for eduction can go further. You can protest all you want, there's no money to keep doing things the way we're doing them. As much as Californian's respect teachers, the Union has gone too far and is nothing but a political machine that has lost it's credibility as much as our elected officials have. Maybe they could do the right thing now, save jobs & education by unloaded all the extras they've gained through all their lobbying efforts.

[2contango]

I can't understand the purpose of this protest. The reason teaching jobs are being cut is because taxpayers no longer can provide the same level of support they did in the past and teachers refuse to accept reforms that would streamline the educational system. Blaming politicians isn't productive because they have little control over the economy.

California's economy is shrinking. That means we all have to do with less. Instead of griping, teachers should move on to try to make the best of what they have.

[Mr. Mysterious]

The LAUSD public education have failed most of our children, and their unionize monopoly continues to degrade the learning atmosphere even more. A lay-off would be nice to get rid of the bad teachers. They fail to educate and the state should give most of the money to schools that actually works. Spending more money is not the answer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4pN-aiofw

[Peter B]

California needs to get it's financial house in order. It seems every time their is a recession services get hammered. That is no way to run a state.

[Paula]

So much anger and finger pointing at the teacher and their union. Can any other group in education possibly be responsible for high drop out rates and poor test scores. I know, let's blame the teachers and the union that trys to protect them.

[Soliel]

I have an example of the teacher "entitlement" mentality. I onetime met a young teacher (wasn't impressed with him as a person). He complained to me that "teachers should be paid enough to buy a house" Oh really? If he married he could probably buy a condo in a decent area but NO, and start from there but NO, they should be able to buy a house.

Then another woman who just got her degree for teaching complained about her student debt. She said "they should just wipe away my debt because I am teacher". No joke!

See, not all, but so many feel they shouldn't have to deal with what we all have to deal with....changing income, healthcare costs and student loans.

It's truly amazing...they are never happy because the union nurses grievances to squeeze more tax money out of all of us. If they were a little bit more GRATEFUL instead of COMPLAINING, they would have better luck.

[serge]

I don't understand how the US can spend more than the rest of the WORLD combined in military buildup, but can't find funds to keep thousands of teachers from being fired; Obama=Bush

[grace]

The reason we don't have any money is because LAUSD wastes money on mini administrators. It's gotten so bad that the coaches have coaches. What are coaches, you ask? They are out of classroom teachers that do the paperwork for the district. In addition, the district wants to mainstream all children with special needs. But they don't provide us with help for these children, just "coaching". You can put ten coaches in my room, but it won't help student learning if I'm the only one actually teaching.

[M. Katzman]

Who is the public to believe? The school District or Duffy?

If LAUSD does use the stimulus package all in one year, as Duffy has demanded, how many jobs does he expect it will save, only to have the teachers go through this anguish again next year? Remember what happened after teachers struck in ’89. Teachers won an eight per cent raise, but with union mediation, gave up the raise a year later. And all along the union repeated “Make no mistake about it—LAUSD has the money.”

Duffy wants Local District offices closed, even after Cortines slashed 45%, a moved which deprived some teachers of their positions. Where will teachers go for mediation in a grievance?

UTLA claims it knows what’s best for kids and schools. Consider the cost of security, lost class time, lost preparation for mandatory testing, lost good will with parents, and the effect of divisiveness in our schools as a result of today’s actions.

Finally, did it help the image of the Los Angeles teacher? Do teachers, schools, and the public feel better about the state of eduation in Los Angeles today?

[Dave]

I'm sure home schooling will make for a well adjusted kid. Yup, that's a solution, keep your kid locked up at home. Teachers get the raw end of the deal. I'm glad our society (voters and legislators) care about the education of our youth. Nice priorities.

[Taxpayer]

I hope all parties involved enjoy my tax dollars because I'm voting no on all propositions. This system needs to change, and we need a breaking point. Apparently we haven't reached it yet.

[Jessica]

MOST teachers work long hard hours, many of them at home where they're grading papers, coming up with lesson plans, and working extra hours with individual students who may need him/her when they're not on the clock. Most teachers accept the fact that they'll have to pay back student debt, and many rent instead of own a house or a condo. What job is more important than educating our children? How many kids are going to fall behind or drop out of school because of the $15 billion budget cuts to education and the higher class sizes? Most parents (especially single parents) have to work just to put a roof over their family's heads and food on the table, how in the world are they going to find time to homeschool their kids?

Our teachers do not get paid enough for what they do. I think that instead of complaining about "teacher entitlement" everyone--not just those with kids--should be doing all they can to help, even if it means donating money, goods or their time.

Also, I would have liked to hear from other school districts in Southern California besides LAUSD

[Sean K]

Soleil: It's obvious from your inarticulate, meandering, pointless and fallacious reasoning that the reason you hate teachers is because they make you feel inferior... because your writing indicates that you are not a particularly bright person. Which would be fine. Not everyone can be born a genius. But the problem is that you feel a need to express yourself as if your one or two personal experiences constitute some kind of proof of something. Nothing carries less weight than when someone without a shred of rationality to their thought process tries to prove a point by saying, "well I knew someone once who..." blah blah blah. Those brilliant 'common sense' people base everything on subjective gibberish and who actually have no sense at all.

[Lee Mary]

I've met teachers who work for LAUSD and many of them are very stupid, especially the ones in the elementary level. No wonder our kids are not learning anything and dropping out.

[seanjean]

Our kids are inept at mathematics, science and history. Our schools have been taken over by activists whose number one priority is their paycheck, tenure and pension. California spends the most money per pupil, but gives us subpar test scores, rising dropouts (50% dropout rate in some LAUSD schools) and a general lack of security due to gang violence and tagging.

[Fujishig]

someone said "stimulus money is meant to be spent now." The district claims they want to spend it over 2 years. The problem if we spend it now is... what happens next year? If we blow through two years of funding in one year, we just have even more massive layoffs next year. Or are we counting on some pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to show up?

It's not like teachers are being singled out for the cuts or anything. Cuts have to be made everywhere, and to think that one sector is absolutely untouchable doesn't make any sense. This is the same delusional line of thinking that has our Mayor proclaim that we have to keep our current pace of hiring police... even as we prepare to lay some off.

Now there are valid gripes about layoffs being tied solely to seniority, but that's not what the union or the teachers are arguing about here.

[Sean K]

When I was a kid Americans had respect for teachers and appreciated the hard and important work they did. Now, with more and more public schools being filled with kids living under the poverty line, more and more kids involved in gangs and drugs than ever before, more and more kids who are children of teenage pregnancies, more and more kids with parents in prison, more and more... this list can literally go on for pages. And yet pinheads who base all their thoughts on selfish emotions instead of the ability to put themselves in someone else's shoes still think teachers are "incompetent" and "overpaid". It makes me sick. Another sign of how pathetic and stupid our society has become. The 'Bush' Generation: Whining, complaining, selfish losers who don't support anything that doesn't involve violence.

[Jack]

It's disgusting the way the "teachers" use the kids as pawn in their publicity game. Our teachers are some of the most overpaid in the nation with perks up the ying yang (such as life-long retirement). Continuing to demand more and more of the L.A. taxpayers while they continue to fail the students. What are they teaching them now? When the economy is in trouble and everyone is suffering, yell, scream, and disrupt everything while refusing to make any sacrifices. What a valuable lesson for L.A.'s youth.

[R Hammer]

If you would all wake up and count how much money the state is paying to educate ILLEGALS, you would not be broke.

[sezmeow]

Yes, there are bad teachers, yes there are teachers who are milking the system, but what about the thousands of teachers who show up early for work and stay late? What about the teachers who go over and above what is required of them to provide their students with the best learning opportunities? The public is jumping on teachers about things we have no control over. Principals have three years in which they can easily get rid of the bad apples, After that there is procedure that must be followed that does make it difficult. Teachers do not have any authority to change this procedure. We as a country have this thing called "due process". Our founding fathers gave it to us. Due process means that you can not be fired simply because the principal doesn't like you, someone has accused you of something with out any proof, etc. We know that times are hard. But why is it that our city, state and federal governments feel that cutting health and human services and education first is the answer? Many have posted that teachers are complainers. Not true. We are blamed for the drop out rate, low scores on testing and so forth. The public needs to realize that we have our students 6 hours a day 5 days a week. We have no control over what goes on in their lives the other 18 hours. I have had students who are so happy to come back to school after summer, or holidays because they get to drink milk every day. I keep breakfast bars in my class for those who don't get breakfast at home and get to school late and miss breakfast. I hear the stories of how they couldn't do their homework because their parents were fighting or they had to go to work with their parents, or they didn't get enough sleep because thier brother or sister kept them awake and so on. I have 2 questions for all you who are so anti teacher:
1. How did you learn to read, write and do math?
2. Would you have a job today if it weren't for teachers?

Think back to your schools days. Think of the teachers who made a positive impact in your life and the ones who didn't. I'm sure the positive teachers greatly out number the negative ones.

These children are our future. Isn't it time we put them first?

[gina]

Why are they already out of jail? What kind of "sacrifice" was this? They better not have used my union dues to pay their fines.

[Markus]

The people that actually have skills and make money can work anywhere. We moved from California years ago because we were being targeting for higher taxes and our kids were getting a lousy education. The only people left in California are Unions and people who don't pay taxes. Unfortunately that's the obvious end game. Those that make money off the tax base and those that don't pay taxes. You deserve each other. If you're a decent teacher, there's plenty of money and better conditions in almost ANY other state. Don't like it here? Move like we did for greener pastures.

[Alan]

Let me get this straight. The state has passed all these bond measures, LAUSD teachers union has 48,000 teachers and serves (and I use the word "serves" while holding my nose) about 640,000 students. I am not a math expert, but that doesn't calculate into very high class sizes.

What I find amazing is that the teaher's union seems to imply that if they don't get what they want that this will effect the students performance. Do you mean that it could actually get worse than it is? The test scores are atrocious, the accountability non-existent, no one gets fired, and the drop-out rate is deplorable. Can it get any worse than it already is? Is that possible? If the union could actually make it worse than it already is than I would have to applaud them on actually achieving something.

[Joan]

So sorry, but this is the real world. A world in which a person has to produce in order to keep a job and a paycheck, not just have tenure, or seniority or buy the most crayons. Suck it up, all other professions are experiencing layoffs, why do teachers think they are so incredibly special that they should be spared? They really need to go after the incredible waste at the administrative levels. I know, I've been there. It's disgraceful. High-paid administrators, dumbing down classes to cater to illegals and unions that are so strident that they turn off people who were formerly in the teachers' corner. Grow up, stop clogging traffic, do your jobs, educate the kids who can be educated and throw the others away. Stop the social promotion of the idiots who will get their feelings hurt because they cannot advance to the third grade -- the gang-bangers, the illegals who keep the others down because classes are geared toward the least intelligent. Please, get a grasp on reality. Why do you think private schools prevail? D'uh. Some of you need to stand up and say what's really going on. The taxpayers are sick of paying for the dolts.

[Ellen]

Roman, Not everyone can home school their kids. I rent and do not own a house, have student loans and put in 4 hours every day outside the 6 and 1/2 in my classroom. For those who say we need to get in the real world- we are in the real world- my students have their houses being foreclosed on, are in foster care and in many other terrible situations.
This race to the bottom mentality has cost the entire state. Private workers should still have pensions but they need to stop voting in politicians who outsource their jobs. Stop blaming unions and blame yourselves for electing Reagan and all the others who began the decline of the middle class.

[Alan]

Inflated profits, employees being paid not to come to work, manipulating and cheating the shareholders (students). Are we talking about Enron, WorldComm, AIG, and Bernie Madoff????

[Fred]

Any teacher who thinks they're being abused should resign immediately and go to work in the private sector without union protection. You have been programmed to believe your contribution is above and beyond the call of duty. I have three family members who "teach" and none of them achieved a 3.0 in Lib Arts. Not Nuclear Science, not Computer Programming, Liberal Arts. One of them got a 2.2 in PE. They were hired because there was an "emergency". If it gets too tough, don't let the door hit you on the way out!

[moose]

Speaking of illegal/undocumented immigrants... wasn't Duffy at the rally the other week, proclaiming that he was representing all the teachers in support of them? I can pretty much guarantee that if we somehow got a handle on the illegal immigrant problem, that teachers would have to be laid off due to lack of enrollment. However, we would spend less, and class sizes would be reduced.

[Steve]

I willing to bet that if the courts hadn't overturned the will of the people to deny illegal aliens benefits: education, welfare, healthcare, etc. that the California budget would be fine. Instead illegal aliens are bankrupting hospitals, destroying our educational system, and overcrowding our prisons. The courts shouldn't write checks the people have to cash.

[Soliel]

Sean K: Like so many teachers to these LA Times boards, you are name calling instead of addressing the issues.

The issue is here that teachers refuse to do without, just a little bit, when we are all suffering. They feel they deserve their gold plated health care (no co-payments, no premiums), full pensions and great salaries while many of us lose our retirements, jobs, homes, etc. They still want more because after all, "we are teeeeeeeechers and it's for the chiiiiiiiildreeeeen". Gag!

The union is NOT for the children...if they were they would have booted child molesters, incompetent, lazy, uncaring teachers out of the classroom when they find one..but they do not. They protect them ALL even if it RUINS the education of so many youth. No wonder they run from public high school...the school is not really for them.

Apologies to good teachers out there. We all know there are good teachers. Good teachers should not make excuses for these problems, they should be actively working to boot the bad teachers out. If you don't, we naturally assume you are one of them.

[Frank Talk]

These people are doing this for your children. Those of you who are talking crap about them are probably boomer whites, who are so selfish you can careless about investing in the future. Guess what? You are a generation of failures and the current state of affairs are a testament to that. It is our turn, shut up and go take a viagra or drink yourselves into a stupor.

[Ivan]

Two solutions: (1) LAUSD should file Chapter 9 bankruptcy and abrogate its union contracts. It could then impose lower wages and new work rules. OR (2) Abolish LAUSD and fire all the teachers. Form several smaller districts, which would then hire those teachers who did a good job.

[Get real]

The teachers union has to go. The time has come for school vouchers and charter schools.
Teach our children that a free competitive market works, not temper tantrums by a bunch of self entitlement whiners who sit down in the street and refuse to move like a two year old does when he doesn't get his way. Time to pick them up and carry them out into the real world.

[Brijesh]

I'm happy for teachers getting laid off. They are no good and so is LAUSD where the failure rate is maximum...
No point educating the fat angelinos..they are better becoming a gangster or janitor....

[Bill Mullins]

The budget mess we are in has to be shared all around. Protesting that the budget mess should not affect you means you are just another special interest group that does not consider the bigger picture, just their own point of view.

[Mike]

Hate and ignorance get us nowhere.

Illegals, gangs, unions, tax-payers, teachers- humans.

Yes, our educational system needs to change.

Bad teachers and principals must be fired.

However, there is so much good.

Let us focus on and support what works.

The rest should be cut- NOW!

We can't afford to lose anymore.

[Susan]

To the person who said teachers have life-long retirement---we have retirement because we pay into it! As a teacher, I am required to have 8% taken out of my check every month to go into teacher's retirement. It's not free, if that's what you're thinking. And another thing--those people who seem to think we get summers off with pay. We don't. We don't get paid then. If I want money during the summer, I have to save it. I think after all the hours of working (nights, weekends-grading papers, planning), the pay isn't really that great. It is very unusual for me as a teacher to take even a day off on the weekends-that is how much grading I have. There are so many illusions in the media that don't match reality.

[andy]

We (the tax paying we) cannot afford this current government structure. Teachers who are good at their profession should be willing to give up tenure, it protects the weak. There is no reason grade/high school teachers should have tenure. We cannot afford the benefits all of our public service workers currently receive, contracts need revised. If the facts reported in the Times are correct, over 1/3 of the LA students do not graduate. Someone isn't doing what they are paid to do. Most of you voted for CHANGE, here it comes.

[jay vasquez]

Arrest them All! To bad! 50% drop out rate! Most teachers I know are teachers because they couldn't do anything else. They were to dumb to make it out in the real world! Lay them all off and start all over, every single one of them! They all look like thugs what are they doing teaching our kids!

[ironman]

Many of you seem to misunderstand the issue at hand. The thousands of teachers who are getting fired are not the ones you all keep complaining about. The teachers who teach nothing, make lots of money, and don't care about kids aren't the ones on the chopping block. The teachers who are getting fired are the young, motivated, hardworking teachers who are the most concerned about students. Those of you who are complaining need to understand, when those younger teachers get fired, all that will be left will the be worst teachers, all of whom are tenured and can't be let go. People, let's make sure we understand a situation before we make ignorant, blanket statements.

[Louweegie272]

The economy is awful, the State is bankrupt. With a 35% drop out rate, it's tough to sell that the current system is at all effective. I feel bad for the people who are being laid off and the kids who will be in larger classes, but what other alternative is there?

[patriot]

I taught my own children to read with phonics. Back then it was unfashionable to do that. They excel at reading. Teach phonics to your child before the public school (broken down) system gets a hold on them.

[Tony]

Since when did teachers look so unprofessional? take a look at the photo of teachers protesting on the LA time homepage. Shaved heads, black Tshirts, tatoos...Glad I don't have kids in school here.

[CJ Roses]

Are these the same folks who stole $60 million from the District in lieu of firing anybody?...

[no sanctuary]

These teachers and their union should be recognized for their actions today at the next negotiations:

1. !5% pay cut to the current $70,000 salaries to bring them more in line with the rest of the world. Create merit pay up to 10% for outstanding performance.

2. Eliminate tenure, which was originally intended to protect university professors' free speech and research.

3. Streamline termination procedures to eliminate bad teachers in 30 days or less.

4. Use money saved and any additional funding for vouchers and charter schools.

5. Develop measures to promote competition between schools. Allow students to compete to attend better schools without regard to home location.

Those unhappy with the changes should be invited to take a hike. Striking teachers should be fired.

Now the above will never happen under the Messiah, who has been bought and paid for by the unions, but this plan would put our schools back on the right track. Competition is the key.

[Ironman]

I think some of you may confused as far as this issue goes. The teachers who are protesting because they are about to get fired are not that same teachers you all are mistaking them for. The older, lazier, overpaid teachers who don't care about students and don't teach anything are already tenured and are not in any danger. The teachers who are protesting, those who ARE in danger, are the young, hardworking, least paid, idealistic teachers who care about their kids and don't want to be fired for fear of turning over their classes to someone who doesn't care. If we proceed to fire all these people, all we will be left with will be the teachers who just come to work to get paid without any other good teachers to balance them out. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water here, if we think scores are abysmal now, think about how they will look without hardworking teachers next year.

[bkl]

"These children are our future. Isn't it time we put them first?"

Yes, sezmeow, we want to put the children first. That is why we think all of the teachers in LAUSD should be fired. Put children first, not teachers, especially not teachers who have failed our children over and over for the last thirty years.

UTLA teachers have been protesting layoffs, but they never protest the dismal graduation rates.

[mandy]

Joan suggests all professions are suffering from layoffs and teachers should just 'suck it up.' Here's the problem Joan. Will the school district also layoff students? If not, how many students will be in a classroom? All the teachers my children studied under were well qualified and always went the extra mile for them. They did everything from writing recommendation letters to out of town competitions like science olympiad and history day, on their own time of course. Perhaps you would be happier with a corporate model, putting classrooms upfor bidding, the lowest bid to save money. Students support teachers because teachers support them. I am shocked at the hostility in the comments and assume they come from parents of under performing students.

[no sanctuary]

These teachers and their union should be recognized for their actions today at the next negotiations:
1. !5% pay cut to the current $70,000 salaries to bring them more in line with the rest of the world. Create merit pay up to 10% for outstanding performance.
2. Eliminate tenure, which was originally intended to protect university professors' free speech and research.
3. Streamline termination procedures to eliminate bad teachers in 30 days or less.
4. Use money saved and any additional funding for vouchers and charter schools.
5. Develop measures to promote competition between schools. Allow students to compete to attend better schools without regard to home location.
Those unhappy with the changes should be invited to take a hike. Striking teachers should be fired.
Now the above will never happen under Obama, but this plan would put our schools back on the right track. Competition is the key.

[Very simple]

Lazy parents, lazy kids, lazy union types . . . they should just call it LUSD (Lazy Unified School District )

[A parent]

Do you realize that, if UTLA would have agreed to a one day furlough, the layoffs would not have occurred? Instead, they call upon the entire membership to walkout and incur the same financial hit - and for nothing other than to rob the students of an instructional day. Wouldn't the furlough be the responsible choice?

But anyway, we need to demand legislation that lays off the bad teachers first. Until then, none of this makes sense.

[mlp1138]

I've been teaching for 10 yrs now and I've never "failed" any of my students. They have failed themselves-and especially their non supportive parents have failed them. All of you saying negative comments need to spend a day in my shoes doing my job and you'll see the level of parental neglect these students suffer from. I see it every day in my classroom-I can't make up for bad parenting-nor should I be expected to.

[Frustrated Administrator]

UTLA is just as complicit in the deterioration of our district as the bureaucrats who run it. Duffy is more interested in grandstanding and getting his name in the papers than he is in finding solutions. Unfortunately, the teachers have been conditioned to follow their union blindly. If UTLA was smart it would have spent the money wasted today on an audit of LAUSD to find the money necessary to save jobs. However, it clings to the idea of using up our stimulus money, so that we can face this same situation next year. In reality, there are a lot of outsiders getting rich off of education through artificially inflating the costs of textbooks, tests, and staff development contracts, to name just a few things. Why has UTLA failed to address this?

The public has a right to be outraged with UTLA. It has created a system that not only protects incompetent teachers, but has set up a mindset of entitlement. Many teachers now feel that if a principal tries to make any administrative decisions, it is an abuse of power. Most major decisions, including any involving budgets, must be made by school site or leadership councils that are required to consist of a majority of teachers. Others, such as bell schedules and selection of coordinators, are subject to a UTLA member vote. Unfortunately, teachers tend to make choices without sufficient perspective and through the lens of self-interest. This year Cortines released money to the schools to buy back positions, yet teachers have decided to cut coaches and counselors, even after class size reduction was achieved (at QEIA schools). This will result in less services for students, less instructional support, and more layoffs. This cutting of out-of-classroom positions was encouraged by UTLA, who, in doing so, turned on its own members. Now add into this, the fact that UTLA tells teachers it is ok to boycott required activities such as faculty meetings and periodic assessments and you can see how UTLA is contributing to the dysfunction occurring in schools.

Most teachers are hard working and dedicated, however the number of ineffective teachers is significant. Two years is not long enough to earn tenure. As most teachers know, teaching has a steep learning curve and the first two years are a period of growth. During this time a teacher needs support from administration and coaches. However, in order to dismiss a teacher during the first two years, a teacher must be written up several times and given notice by December (usually to be followed by fighting off a grievance). This means the process must be started after the teacher has been on staff no longer than a year. This is ok for blatantly bad teachers, but it is too soon to pass judgement on a borderline teacher showing some improvement. Additionally, many of the worst teachers have gotten that way by pushing the envelope more and more each year once they realize there is little that can be done to them. I have seen teachers who push, slap, and/or use profanity with students receive only a week long suspension. Even this slap on the hand takes weeks to months of fighting with the union before it can be issued. This is all in the name of "due process." We then have to wait for them to do something else before we can take it to the next level. Unfortunately, the majority of teachers are not aware of what is happening in their colleagues' classrooms and to what degree, or they would probably ask the union to change it themselves.
I suggest, in all seriousness, that we bring back the movement to break up LAUSD. This would create smaller, more manageable districts, and break up the powerhouse that is UTLA.

[rapidray]

If we got serious about removing the thousand of illegal immigrants taking valuable education resources from natives and legal immigrants, we could solve this shortfall with many $$$ to spare. It's time we engaged legal protections already in place.

[RAJ]

I am a District teacher who has watched in horror while everyone has ignored the big elephant in the room -- illegal aliens and the "anchor babies" overwhelming the schools, and all else. LA County pays $1 billion per year and the state pays at least $14 billion per year in some fashion for all these people. I don't see anyone mentioning cutting the gravy train to this entire industry. Prop 187 might have laid off teachers, but frankly, I can teach elsewhere or work at other things. In the end, we'd all be better off to actually enforce the laws and put an end to birthright citizenship.

I say dismantle public education. At the end of the day, it's not working, at least in LA. Why keep wasting the money to keep something going like some old clunker car?

[Sara]

I was fortunate enough to have had the experiences of public school and one year of private school. Private school in San Bernardino, CA where there was not enough money for the most basic of tools and tuition was an arm and a leg, because public high school was to be feared- violence, gangs and the like. So back to public school I went. I wouldn't say that I had a great experience in either institution, but I will say this: there is waste everywhere, there is excess that can be cut and the world will not come crashing down.

[union rhetoric]

sezmeow, Due Process has nothing to do with an employers right to fire at will. If it did, everyone is this country would be entitled to legal processes prior to firing. There are labor contract provisions which can be re-written. UTLA Teachers' specific rights to legal processes, prior to firing, are specified in their labor contract. They have nothing to do with the 5th Amendment of our Constitution.

[alikary]

Ignorance comes in all shapes and forms. It is very prevalent here before us among some of these post.

Illegals as you may call us! If you did not know California is a Spanish Word, meaning we were here before you! It's like the tea pot calling the kettle black.

If you really know how much money LAUSD waste you would be outraged! Board members have car expenses paid for by the district. These are unqualified people running a profession they've never been a part of!

In a state that is ranked 35th per student spending. WIth a low ranking like that what can you expect. Now LAUSD wants to increase class sizes, what do you think will happen now?

Think outside your racist ignorant selves and consider our children our priority. Regardless of race or color! But as a HUMAN RACE!

[Ellen]

This isn't basic capitalism and capitalism is not a science. It fails all but the top wage earners. It is what we choose to financially value that counts. And we value CEO's over aerospace engineers and teachers.

If the cops were doing this you would not be complaining. America is an anti-intellectual country that spits on education. Sheet metal workers and other trades people who work for LAUSD make more than teachers.

[Anti-Union Teacher]

As an anti-thuggery (anti-union) teacher, I can attest to the fact that the comments posted by Andy, a fellow teacher, are inaccurate, incomplete, and do not paint a complete picture.

1. Andy correctly states that teachers do have life-long benefits because teachers pay 8% of their paychecks each month into STRS, the teacher's pension. However, he fails to mention that the school system is also required to pay in an even greater share, which is currently 8.25%. Yes, it's not free for him, but it's not free for the school system either.

2. Andy incorrectly states that teachers do not get paid DURING the summer. A more accurate statement would be that teachers do not get paid FOR the summer, but they most certainly do get paid DURING the summer. A teacher's pay is normally "annualized" and spread out over 12 months, even though they work for only 9 months.

Additionally, if you do work during the summer, you can actually make a pretty penny thanks to something called "Z-time," which is overtime pay. On a $50,000 base salary, you could give yourself a $20,000 raise by working all summer and by working during Saturday school. This actually disincentivizes teachers from making sure their kids perform well during the regular school day. If they did, there would be no need for summer school and Saturday school, which eliminates an earnings opportunity.

On another note, there are deeply ingrained flaws to the district's non-merit-based salary table. The pay table rewards teachers not for results, but for staying in the system and for taking classes. You move up the pay scale simply by the number of years you are a teacher and the number of classes you take, even if neither measure increases your effectiveness as a teacher nor the results you get out of your kids. If the pay scale does not reward results, then naturally, results will not follow.

As a hard-working teacher myself who is mission-driven rather than profit-driven, I am tired of seeing fellow teachers and the union ripping-off the school system and ripping off the kids by only thinking about money and entitlements instead of thinking about results and responsibility. In order to save our fellow teacher’s jobs, take a pay cut like the rest of the world, share the burden, and share the responsibility.

[Scott Birnkrant]

Unfortunately my kids, along with many others, will be the victims of this fiscal mess.

[Sean K]

Soleil: this is the last time I will reply to you, because you clearly have no reading comprehension skill. You say all I engage in is name calling and then fail to address any of the clearly articulated arguments that were made. You did not address the fact that your few personal experiences do not prove anything. You did not address the fact that teacher's jobs are getting harder and harder while people like you try to take more and more from them. Yes, my comments were emotional and contained personal attacks. And I stand by them. You and your kid deserve them. Despite this, you have done nothing but repeat the anti-teacher propaganda that the district administrators spend so much time feeding you, and that the LA Times is providing a forum for without providing any reasoning outside of your few and irrelevant personal experiences. And even in that case you failed to explain why a highly qualified and educated professional shouldn't expect the same benefits and pay anyone else with their skill and responsibilities gets just because they teach your children.

[Sean K]

"Anti-Union Teacher"- I have never met a teacher in my life, even the bad ones, who are 'profit driven'. For one thing, you don't make 'profits' off teaching, you earn 'wages'. If you don't know the difference, go take an economics course. I assume what you mean to say is that some teachers 'only do it for the money'. Yeah. Right. We all know materialistic and greedy people just love to become teachers. Not contractors, administrators or business monkeys. Teachers. Makes a lot of sense. And the hair splitting thing about summer pay was ridiculous. You realize you just made an argument for Andy's point don't you? The main point is not 'when' the pay is received but for 'what' it is received. It has been demonstrated by none other than yourself that the pay 'collected' during the summer is EARNED during the regular school year. The District just 'regulates' your pay for you so you don't run the risk of being broke all summer. It's almost hilarious that you don't even understand that the point is merit, not timetable. If you really are a teacher, then given your shockingly shallow thought process, you are most certainly one of the ones who needs to go.

[Vicente Mercado]

America, what a great country. I'm enjoying reading your comments. Free speech, what a wonderful gift our forefathers bestowed on us. I'm a teacher, I teach all students, good and bad, never turned a student or a parents away. I have very few rights. I have to face every situation with a calm professional attitude. One thing I can guarantee you, all students I've met come from planet Earth, there are no aliens; and and none of the students are made of steel, they are all flesh and bone, the only anchors I've ever seen are part of ships and bone.
You leave my class knowing this: when you make a statement, you have to include supporting details. A well written paragraph needs a topic sentence and supportive details.
Lets continue our dialog, but keep it civilized, and stay away from name calling, and right wing radio talk show unfounded statement.