Parent trigger misfires, again
Posted: 04/28/2012 07:10:46 AM PDT
The Adelanto Elementary School District Board of Trustees boldly stood up for students and the rights of all parents in the school community by rejecting an attempt led mainly by a group of outside organizers to shut down an elementary school, replace the entire staff, and create a privately managed charter school.The trustees recognized that Parent Revolution organizers at Desert Trails Elementary School had failed to meet the simple majority threshold required by the state's so-called "parent trigger" law because many parents who initially signed the petition now wanted their names removed amid allegations of misrepresentation and harassment by some signature gatherers.
The Adelanto School Board meeting drew some heavy-hitter outsiders to the district, including parent trigger author and former state senator Gloria Romero. Acknowledging she had never been to Adelanto before, she urged the board to send a national message and approve the trigger petition. One board member respectfully reminded her that their role was not to send political messages, but to follow the law and do what is best for Adelanto students. The final vote was 5-0 against the petition.
The California Teachers Association opposed the parent trigger law when it was proposed for a number of