Kudos to LA Times education reporter Howard Blume for getting a hold of a 44-page memo outlining a massive $490 million charter school expansion plan being floated by the Broad Foundation and others.
LA is a competitive market when it comes to education coverage, and scoops like these are increasingly hard to come by. Far as I can tell, Blume broke the story ahead of everyone else in town — KPCC, the LA Daily News, LA School Report, etc.
The story has been picked up by NPR (Group Led By Billionaire Proposes Overhaul Of LA Public Schools) and KPCC LA (Billionaire’s proposal for 130,000 LA charter school seats in L.A draws fire). Blume and colleague Teresa Watanabe are doing their best to keep ahead of the pack (Plan to boost charters splits L.A. Unified board)
I’m asking around whether the coverage leaves anything out or gets anything wrong and will let you know what I find out (if anything). I and others have occasionally had issues about the story selection and reporting coming from the LA Times education team, which is newly-expanded to include a big online element.
Related posts: High Hopes & Expectations For The LA Times’ Massive New Education Team; 3 Education Reporters In Tough Situations; Who Leaked Deasy’s “Resignation” (& Why It Didn’t Work); 7 Things I Learned From The LA Times’ TFA Article.
