LAUSD: The Voters Have Spoken and Publicly-Elected School Boards Choose Superintendents
Guest post by Karen Wolfe, a parent and public education advocate who lives in Los Angeles.
Parents and public school advocates are very concerned following the LA Times article about Mayor Garcetti weighing in on Superintendent Deasy’s waning support.
Parents and public school advocates are very concerned following the LA Times article about Mayor Garcetti weighing in on Superintendent Deasy’s waning support.
I hope the mayor will keep in mind that voters value their right to elect an independent school board, a right to which the Los Angeles City Charter entitles them and which has been reaffirmed in the courts. This power struggle is inevitable with a superintendent who very publicly opposed the election of several board members. The voters have spoken. They do not support Deasy’s policies–nor his abuse of power in usurping the board’s role in setting policies at all. As LA Times columnist Steve Lopez wrote earlier this month, “So, yeah, do some micromanaging. Hold people accountable. Ask questions.” The board is doing its job.
The only thing new about this dynamic is Deasy’s precipitous decline in support. The superintendent has declared that board policies are unfunded mandates. That’s absurd. The board has passed several resolutions in the last year that have not been implemented. Examples include a resolution to establish a core arts program, a resolution to help neighborhood schools boost enrollment rather than accept as an operating assumption that enrollment will continue to decline, a resolution to revamp Prop 39 implementation to balance support for neighborhood schools, and a campus greening initiative.
Guest post by Understanding Equity, a Los Angeles resident and teacher. Even Costco most likely could provide a break down of the cost of every ingredient needed to make one of their famous apple pies. But, when it comes to LAUSD’s Apple iPad purchase, no one seems or admits to have any idea how the deal was sliced up. What we do know is the total cost of the iPad which included software from