Why school choice plan is a bad idea for our district - LA Daily News:
"HOW can you have an education 'town hall' where the townsfolk aren't invited?
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Ben Austin staged two such events this month touting LAUSD Vice President Yolie Flores Aguilar's school choice resolution, which is up for vote on Tuesday.
Locking out those most concerned with the content of those meetings - parents, educators and the community - is a harbinger of how public education may look should the resolution pass. In fact, the closed meetings stand as metaphors for how the majority of charter management organizations work: undemocratic, top down, run by noneducators, and unaccountable to the communities where they operate.
Noting widespread public opposition to Flores Aguilar's resolution, particularly at town halls featuring LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines, the mayor and his Green Dot allies made sure their Boyle Heights and Venice meetings were town halls in name only.
The first was held midday Aug. 11. The Garfield Town Hall was hosted at Catholic Charities instead of Garfield High School, notably because Garfield's parents, teachers, and community have vehemently opposed Green Dot's ongoing hostile takeover attempts for over a year. The community was locked outside while parents bused in from other locations comprised the audience.
Those locked out were told they would have been admitted had they called to reserve a spot.
That's what many people did for the next day's town hall in Venice once they obtained a number for RSVPs. The number was voice mail for Green Dot's paid organizer and none of us were ever called back. The Aug. 12 town hall in Venice was another closed meeting. "
"HOW can you have an education 'town hall' where the townsfolk aren't invited?
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Ben Austin staged two such events this month touting LAUSD Vice President Yolie Flores Aguilar's school choice resolution, which is up for vote on Tuesday.
Locking out those most concerned with the content of those meetings - parents, educators and the community - is a harbinger of how public education may look should the resolution pass. In fact, the closed meetings stand as metaphors for how the majority of charter management organizations work: undemocratic, top down, run by noneducators, and unaccountable to the communities where they operate.
Noting widespread public opposition to Flores Aguilar's resolution, particularly at town halls featuring LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines, the mayor and his Green Dot allies made sure their Boyle Heights and Venice meetings were town halls in name only.
The first was held midday Aug. 11. The Garfield Town Hall was hosted at Catholic Charities instead of Garfield High School, notably because Garfield's parents, teachers, and community have vehemently opposed Green Dot's ongoing hostile takeover attempts for over a year. The community was locked outside while parents bused in from other locations comprised the audience.
Those locked out were told they would have been admitted had they called to reserve a spot.
That's what many people did for the next day's town hall in Venice once they obtained a number for RSVPs. The number was voice mail for Green Dot's paid organizer and none of us were ever called back. The Aug. 12 town hall in Venice was another closed meeting. "
