EDITORIAL SYSTEM ERROR?AS a mammoth bureaucracy continually beset be·set tr.v. be·set, be·set·ting, be·sets 1. To attack from all sides. 2. To trouble persistently; harass. See Synonyms at attack. 3. with organizational problems, the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. could use a quick fix. But even quick fixes have a problem: They tend not to work. So there's reason to be skeptical that Schoolmax, a $43.5 million student- information system, will be the cure-all for the LAUSD's difficulties in keeping track of attendance, demographics The attributes of people in a particular geographic area. Used for marketing purposes, population, ethnic origins, religion, spoken language, income and age range are examples of demographic data. , grades and schedules. School districts in Glendale, Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. and Oxnard that use Schoolmax report mixed results. The districts have been plagued with computer crashes and an overall lack of functionality and reliability. Maybe things will be different in the LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) . Maybe the district's much- heralded plan for implementing the system slowly and paying its designers incrementally will lead to a smoother transition. We can only hope so. Because in a district that lacks the cash to properly outfit its schools, $43.5 million is a lot to spend on a fancy new computer system - let alone one that doesn't work. |
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