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Monday, February 23, 2015

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Bogus 'Parent Trigger' petition rejected by Anaheim board

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Bogus 'Parent Trigger' petition rejected by Anaheim board:


Bogus 'Parent Trigger' petition rejected by Anaheim board



Last month I wrote about an attempt in Anaheim, CA to privatize the management of another public school, using the so-called Parent Trigger law.



The law, which turns parent against parent in a community, gives a temporary majority, who are willing (often cajoled) to sign a petition, the power to hand their public school over to a private company. That company can then fire the principal and all the teachers as well as abrogate the district's collective bargaining agreement. It doesn't matter if next week, or next year, the majority shifts. The school can be privatized and there's little district parents and taxpayers can do about it.



Well, there is something they can do and they did it Thursday in Anaheim when the school board found that the petition submitted by a group of Palm Lane Elementary School parents failed to collect enough valid signatures to privatize the school.