LAUSD Students, Teachers Start 2014-2015 School Year

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — More than 650,000 students in the Los Angeles Unified School District returned to classrooms Tuesday, despite ongoing negotiations with the teachers union.

The nation's second-largest school district and United Teachers Los Angeles failed to settle on salary, staffing and class size reduction issues during a recent bargaining session.

Teachers want a 17.6 percent raise while LAUSD is offering a 2 percent one-time bonus for the completed 2013-2014 school year and a 2 percent raise for the 2014-2015 year.

The next bargaining session is set for Aug. 21.

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy will mark the new school year by visiting 11 campuses over the next two days to greet students and welcome some of the 98 new principals. He also will be reviewing some of the $8 billion renovation projects across the district as well as the progress of the 131 new schools that have been being built since 1997 for nearly $20 billion.

"Students need and deserve to have the facilities that make them safe, give them the opportunities to learn and provide them with enrichment," he said.

Deasy's top goals for the school year include improving graduation rates and prepping students to be college and career-ready.

"We've hired thousands of people, for the first time in six years — thousands of new teachers, new administrators, nurses and counselors — all so we can provide students with the education they deserve," he said.

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