A long-simmering controversy about which parents can have a voice at Los Angeles Unified's low-income schools erupted Tuesday, with boisterous critics accusing a district administrator of bullying and discriminatory tactics.
The agenda item seemed fairly routine - updating a 2006 policy that encourages parents to participate in the decision-making process for how to spend $306 million in federal Title I grants at low-income schools.
But the issue provided an official forum for many parents who have been complaining for months about the school-site councils during the board's public comment period.
They lined out outside LAUSD headquarters and packed the board room, angrily demanding to be heard after the limited number of speakers' cards suddenly disappeared at the start of the meeting.
Daisy Ortiz took the microphone to lambaste Maria Casillas, the former head of the nonprofit Families in Schools, who was recruited to head the district's School, Parent and Community Services branch. Ortiz