Ramon Cortines

A high school would offer students condoms, diaphragms and birth control pills starting this fall under a plan that goes to the superintendent this week, officials said. The pilot program, proposed by an advisory committee to Supt. Ramon Cortines, would make birth control prescriptions available to girls at Balboa High School. The proposal is linked to another plan to dispense condoms and provide additional sex education to students at high schools throughout the district.

Radio station KCRW-FM (89.9) will host a free public forum at the L.A. Unified School District's headquarters on Jan. 17. The forum, led by "Which Way L.A.?" host Warren Olney, will mark KCRW's first live remote broadcast, airing on the station from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Olney will talk with LAUSD's top three officials--including new interim superintendent Ramon Cortines--and take questions from audience participants. For audience reservations: (310) 450-5183.

A 14-member citizens committee wants to hear public opinions during a meeting Tuesday at Reseda High School on the best way to select the new superintendent for the 710,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District. The committee of parents, teachers, students, administrators and political and community leaders was appointed by the Board of Education last month to assist in weighing the merits of candidates to replace Supt. Ruben Zacarias, who plans to step down Jan. 15. Interim Supt.

Dampening the hopes of parents and students fighting to keep North Hollywood High School from going to a year-round schedule, interim Los Angeles schools Supt. Ramon Cortines said Wednesday that overcrowding in the area is worse than suspected. He also said that schools in other parts of the city "must have first priority" over expanding the North Hollywood campus. The news disappointed parents, who on Tuesday presented Cortines with an alternative plan to a year-round calendar.

Re "City Hall, L.A. Unified clash again," Feb. 22 I just read a quote by L.A. Deputy Mayor Ramon Cortines, in which he claimed that a Los Angeles Unified School District report tabulating dropouts was ready but had been withheld "because of the damn bureaucracy." There are "four layers of bureaucracy so you still don't have it." I still remember how Cortines, who was L.A. Unified's interim superintendent, added one of those layers of bureaucracy by constructing 11 mini-districts that added more offices and officials and contributed nothing to the students' success.

The eighth-grade boy held out his wrists for teacher Carlos Polanco to see. He had just explained to Polanco and his history classmates at Virgil Middle School in Koreatown why he had been absent: He had been in the hospital after an attempt at suicide. Polanco looked at the cuts and said they "were weak," according to witness accounts in documents filed with the state. "Carve deeper next time," he was said to have told the boy. "Look," Polanco allegedly said, "you can't even kill yourself."

Los Angeles Unified School District officials said Friday that they were investigating an alleged hazing incident involving the boys' volleyball team at Taft High School. The probe was launched after district officials learned Tuesday of "allegations of a hazing gone bad" at the school, said David Holmquist, the district's chief operating officer. He declined to discuss details, citing the ongoing investigation. After the allegations surfaced Tuesday evening, L.A. Unified Supt. Ramon C. Cortines ordered a preliminary inquiry.

Groups inside and outside the district are vying to operate 12 low-performing schools and 18 new campuses scheduled to open next fall. Aug. 25: Board of Education approved school-control resolution Jan. 11: Final proposals due Jan. 14: Evaluators -- their identities kept secret -- begin reviewing proposals; public presentation meetings commence Feb. 2 & 6: Advisory votes by parents and others...