The Bulletin

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AN AMERICAN PRINT MEDIA PUBLICATION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2019

Undaunted by Rain, L.A. Teachers Strike for 1st Time in 30 Years

LOS ANGELES—Thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District teachers returned to the picket lines Tuesday on the second day of the district’s first teachers strike in 30 years, asking for increased pay, smaller class sizes and the hiring of more support staff, such as nurses, counselors and librarians.

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eachers at The Accelerated Schools charter school in South Los Angeles also went on strike Tuesday, calling for increased teachers’ salaries and health benefits in order to bolster teacher rentention. Those teachers are represented by the same union that represents teachers in the LAUSD. The walkout is billed as the first ever in California by charter-school teachers. About one-third of LAUSD students attended classes on the first day of the strike, according to district officials. The district serves nearly a half-million students and about 142,000 were on campuses Monday. Los Angeles schools Superintendent Austin Beutner said the first day of the strike hit the district hard. The fact only one-third of the district’s students showed up will cost the district $25 million in state funding based on attendance, Beutner said. Unpaid wages for the strikers amounted to $10 million, meaning the district suffered a one-day loss of $15 million. Beutner said the teachers union and the 31,000 members who walked off the job should join with the district in pushing Sacramento to better fund schools. “Let’s build on the renewed attention on public education in our community,” he said. “Let’s bottle it. Let’s put it on our buses and let’s go to Sacramento.” All 1,240 elementary, middle and high schools were open Monday and again Tuesday, thanks in part to substitute teachers and credentialed school staffers, Beutner said. Bus service was operating normally, and meals were being served to students as usual. At 10 schools, non-teaching personnel took part in a sympathy strike, leaving administrators to prepare and serve meals. Negotiations between the two sides broke off Friday and United Teachers Los Angeles went on strike Monday. Beutner said Monday the district is “committed to resolve the contract negotiations as soon as possible.” “This represents the best we can do, recognizing that it is our obligation to provide as much resources as possible to support out students in each and every one of our schools,” n Teachers Strike, see page 9

L.A. County Announces Early Release of Food Stamps

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OS ANGELES (CNS)—The L.A. County Department of Public Social Services announced Monday that it will release CalFresh benefits for February this Wednesday in an effort to ensure that the the county’s most vulnerable residents receive the food support they need without interruption during the government shutdown. “The early distribution of funds is not ad-

ditional benefits, but an early issuance of the February CalFresh benefits,” according to a department statement. “Households are urged to budget their benefits accordingly to ensure that they have funds available to purchase food in the month of February.” CalFresh customers may contact the Department of Public Social Services Customer Service Center at (866) 613-3777 for assistance and additional information.

Fourteen Motorists Arrested During Checkpoint in Compton COMPTON—An eighthour DUI/driver’s license checkpoint in Compton netted 14 arrests, authorities said Monday. The operation was conducted between 6 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday on Santa Fe Avenue at Auto Drive South, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department. One motorist was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, and two others were arrested on felony warrants, the sheriff ’s department reported. Also, nine motorists were arrested for operating a vehicle without a license or with a suspended/revoked license, and one was arrested on another criminal offense, the sheriff ’s department reported. Funding for the checkpoint was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

New Wing of Long Beach Aquarium Opening this Spring

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