L.A. charter school supporters Austin and Arkatov nominated to state school board
Two Los Angeles residents with deep roots in local battles over education reform are among four nominees to the state Board of Education, it was announced Monday.
Overall, the nominations by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signal his continued support for charter schools and his impatience with gradual reform, observers said.
A potentially controversial choice is Ben Austin, 40, who led a successful lobbying campaign last year for a state law that gives parents new powers to launch aggressive reforms.
His “parent trigger” allows parents to choose what will happen to a low-performing public school if a majority sign a petition. The options would include shutting the school down and starting over or converting it to a privately operated charter school.
Austin’s nomination is “an ongoing signal that the governor wants aggressive action and that he tires of process, that he wants someone in there who’s going to be slamming away,” said a Sacramento insider who asked not be named because of his position within the state bureaucracy.
Austin heads a parents group funded by charter school operators and philanthropists closely allied with them. He has a long history as a behind-the-scenes Democratic political consultant. A past bid