LOS ANGELES _ The Los Angeles Board of Education is scheduled Tuesday to vote on the contract that ended this month's six-day teachers' strike. District officials also will consider a resolution calling on state officials to support a moratorium on charter schools.
There could be drama attached to the board's decision on both matters.
A vote to approve the tentative contract could be delayed if an oversight body _ the L.A. County Office of Education _ has not yet completed its review of the deal. As of late Monday, this review was still in progress.
The resolution on charter schools is certain to draw hundreds _ if not thousands _ of angry protesters who oppose placing limits on the growth of these privately operated, mostly non-union schools.
Leaders of the teachers' union pushed hard for the charter resolution during negotiations. It could not be part of the contract, but district officials agreed to put the resolution before the board as part of a broader commitment.
In its current form, at least, the charter resolution seems unlikely to get the four votes needed to pass. Three of the six board members were elected with substantial financial backing from charter school supporters.
Teachers have already approved the new contract, with 81 percent voting "yes," according to preliminary figures. The contract calls for a 3 percent raise retroactive to July 1, 2017, and an additional 3 percent raise that's retroactive to July 1, 2018. Teachers gave up about 3 percent of their pay for this year by being on strike for six days.
The deal also is supposed provide full-time nurses at every campus, librarians at every secondary school and additional counselors at high schools. Class sizes would drop slightly next year and even more in subsequent years, provided there is enough future revenue.
Another contract provision would give teachers more say over when campuses are shared with charter schools.
But the topic that's most likely to bring out charter protesters Tuesday will be a resolution calling for a state study on how charter schools affect traditional schools. The resolution also supports a moratorium on new charters until such a review is completed.
Teachers and their union leaders have long been concerned about the rapid growth of charters _ even as district enrollment is declining overall because of population trends. L.A. Unified serves about 486,000 students in the schools it operates. L.A. Unified has 225 charters _ more than in any other school system in the country _ and they serve about 112,000 students.
The district's declining enrollment has created financial pressure on the nation's second-largest school system, which has had trouble cutting costs and faces increasing burdens from underfunded programs to provide retirees with pensions and health benefits.
There is no limit on how many charters can open, and some have closed because they, too, cannot attract enough students.
In the view of some, this constant competition is healthy _ and likely to lead to better educational options and outcomes. Critics, including the union, insist that more effort and more resources should go toward existing schools, allowing them to remain sources of stability within their communities.
The resolution, even if it passes Tuesday, would have no effect on laws that govern how charters open and operate. The California Legislature could act, but there would be stiff resistance from the influential charter school lobby. Lobbyists for the teachers' unions are also powerful _ and the two sides have often fought each other to a stalemate at the state level.
