L.A. board approves plan that could turn many schools over to charter groups

From The Los Angeles Times: The Los Angeles school board has approved a plan that could turn over 250 campuses -- including 50 new multimillion-dollar facilities -- to charter groups and other outside operators. The plan gives Supt. Ramon C. Cortines the power to recommend the best option to run some of the worst-performing schools in the city as well as the newest campuses.

Earlier...from The Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says he will push the school district to allow outside operators to bid for control of hundreds of campuses. The proposal drew the ire of the teachers union, which has strongly criticized the mayor's own school-improvement efforts at 10 schools

JULY 2009....From The Los Angeles Times: Faced with unrelenting union opposition, the Los Angeles Board of Education has deferred a proposal that would have enabled charter operators and other outside groups to bid for control of 50 new schools scheduled to open over the next four years. Charter operators see in the proposal as a chance to gain access to new school facilities that are largely unavailable to them now.