A wealthy Los Angeles couple has pledged $50 million over the next decade to support Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s reform initiatives in some of Los Angeles’ lowest-performing schools.
Richard and Melanie Lundquist, real estate developers in the city, announced their gift last week with the mayor and leaders of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The money will be used for training and supporting teachers, expanding college-preparation programs, and providing leadership training for principals. Roughly $1 million a year will be used to expand the Teach For America program in the 708,000-student district.
Mr. Villaraigosa and LAUSD officials struck a deal this past summer that will allow the mayor and his education team to run two clusters of low-performing high schools and the elementary and middles schools that feed into them. Those schools have not yet been selected.
See other stories on education issues in California. See data on California’s public school system.
