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The Los Angeles Unified School District ( the "'''LAUSD'''") is the largest (in terms of number of students) Public School system in California and the second-largest in the United States . Only the New York City Department Of Education has a larger student population. As Of 2005 , LAUSD serves over 710,000 students. The School District serves Los Angeles and all or portions of several adjoining California cities. The LAUSD is so large that it has its own police department. The Los Angeles School Police Department was established in 1948 to provide Police services for LAUSD schools. The LAUSD has a local reputation for extremely overcrowded schools and poor maintenance. A significant number of the schools do not exhibit such conditions and the LAUSD has renovated some schools in recent years. A recent attempt at reform led to the creation of 11 ''minidistricts'' with decentralized management. Due to the cost of this additional bureaucracy, Superintendent Romer called for merging the minidistricts to cut overhead. United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing teachers, supported the plan to cut the number of minidistricts. In 2004 , the number of minidistricts was reduced to eight. After his election to Mayor , Antonio Villaraigosa advocated bringing control of the public schools under the mayor's office, a move that resulted in considerable protest from teachers, LAUSD board members, and residents of communities served by LAUSD but not in the City of Los Angeles. The mayor has had to backtrack from this plan. Every LAUSD household or residential area is zoned to an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. Governance The current superintendent is former Colorado Governor and Democratic Party chairman Roy Romer . The current members of the Board of Education are Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte (District 1), José Huizar (District 2), Jon Lauritzen (District 3), Marlene Canter (District 4), David Tokofsky (District 5), Julie Korenstein (District 6), Mike Lansing (District 7) LAUSD cities and unincorporated areas Source: ''Los Angeles Times'' All of the following communities:
and portions of the following communities:
List of schools and properties Secondary schools 4-12 schools
6-12 schools Continuation High Schools
High schools
Middle schools
Elementary schools
Properties The LAUSD is almost certainly the largest property owner in Los Angeles. Three recent development projects have generated controversy. Belmont Learning Center The Belmont Learning Center , in the densely populated Westlake district just west of downtown, was originally envisioned as a mixed-use education and retail complex to include several schools, shops and a public park. After more than a decade of delays stemming from the Environmental Review process, ground was broken for construction in 1995 . Midway through construction it was discovered that explosive Methane and toxic Hydrogen Sulfide were seeping from an old underground oil field. Later, an active surface fault was found under one of the completed buildings, necessitating its removal. The LAUSD had spent an estimated $175 million dollars on the project by 2004, with an additional $110 million budgeted for cleanup efforts. The total cost is estimated by LAUSD at $300 million. Critics have speculated that it may end up costing closer to $500 million. The Ambassador Hotel Another controversial project has been the development of -designed coffee shop and the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub would be preserved, with the Grove serving as the Auditorium for a new school to be built on the site. Demolition began in late 2005, and the last section of the hotel fell on January 16, 2006. The first new school on the site is scheduled to open in 2009. Santee Dairy In 2005, soil samples taken at the LAUSD-owned site of a former Santee Dairy facility in South Los Angeles found high levels of Carcinogen s in soil used as foundation fill for a high school then under construction. A small controversy brewed on the matter, with some neighborhood activists and LAUSD critics claiming a repeat of the Belmont Learning Center fiasco. State scientists determined that the contaminated soil was sufficiently deep to pose no threat to students on the site, and the school opened its doors in September 2005. Notable staff members Teachers
Other
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