LA's new school board president calls for help to market district's quality programs
his week the school board of the nation’s second largest school district voted 4-3 to elect Ref Rodriquez, a former charter school co-founder as its new president. Rodriguez will lead the seven-member board overseeing the Los Angeles Unified School District as it recovers from a bruising set of elections in 2017 that saw $17 million spent largely by charter-school backers and teachers unions — the most in the district’s history.
Rodriguez joins three other board members who were elected this year and attracted campaign funds from charter backers. Rodriquez was elected in 2015.
His election as board president signals an ideological split within the board, as the three members who opposed him backed Richard Vladovic, a former district principal and board president. But while Vladovic has been viewed as a moderate on charter expansion in the district, his most recent campaign also enjoyed financial backing from pro-charter groups. The two other members voting against Rodriguez — Scott Schmerelson and George McKenna — have received teacher-union support.
Given the split on the board, some assume that the Rodriguez-led group will pursue an agenda that calls for an aggressive expansion of charter schools.
Last month EdSource interviewed Rodriguez and the three board members who were elected this year to gain a clearer picture of what the new charter-backed majority’s priorities will look like.
Rodriguez said he supports closing poor-performing charters and reshaping the LA’s new school board president calls for help to market district’s quality programs | EdSource:
