Negotiations Open on Teachers’ Contract

Leaders of the Los Angeles teachers union opened a new round of contract negotiations Tuesday, asking for a raise that would make the Los Angeles Unified School District’s 43,000 teachers among the best paid in the area.

But the president of the Los Angeles school board said she does not envision a pay hike, given competing demands for money and the fact that teachers received a significant raise last year.

District officials said the current budget does not allocate any funds for another raise.

“This year, it’s time to focus on some of the other needs we have,” school board President Caprice Young said. She cited the need to house an expanding student population and the district’s plan to focus on reading instruction in high schools.