Incoming L.A. Superintendent to Start School-Aid Foundation

The new head of the Los Angeles school system announced plans Thursday to form a foundation to attract philanthropic support for the financially struggling district, reports the Associated Press.

The Los Angeles Fund for Public Education will allow donors to precisely designate what programs or projects their money will support, a provision the incoming superintendent, John Deasy, said would combat the perception that contributions to the school system disappear into a “black hole.”

Mr. Deasy, who will take office in April, said he also wants to establish a West Coast branch of the Robin Hood Foundation, a New York charity that has raised millions of dollars for public schools there.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is facing a $400-million deficit for the next school year.