Mayor Bloomberg is pumping $1 million of his own money into a Los Angeles campaign to elect school-board members there who support more rigorous teacher accountability, charter schools and other reforms.
The donation to LA’s Coalition for School Reform comes at a time when Bloomberg is grappling with the teachers union here over a stricter teacher-evaluation program.
LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Schools Superintendent John Deasy have also ruffled feathers for pushing an extensive overhaul of their troubled school district.
The March 5 school-board election has been framed as a referendum on Deasy.
“The mayor is proudly supporting reform candidates in Los Angeles and will do all he can to support the cause of education reform around the nation,” said Bloomberg Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson.
Villaraigosa applauded Bloomberg’s financial backing.