LA School Board: Proving They’re the Deciders

LA SCHOOLS AND OTHER MUSINGS-The Board of Ed met on Tuesday and did the predictable: THEY RATIFIED THE PENDING CONTRACT WITH UTLA, a vote they had actually taken previously to approve the contract language before it was sent for approval to the rank+file. But they voted again to approve it in the interest of validating the obvious and to keep up the appearances of “We are the Board of Education; we are the Deciders” process. They put their toes on the tape marks and said their lines into the camera, just like in the rehearsal. 

Then they had to wait on pins and needles ‘til Thursday morning when the governor announced his MAY REVISE BUDGET. $300-400 million more for LAUSD – so whattayaknow: the money is there for the salary increase and it’s hard to imagine the legislature changing much …or the governor changing much with his blue veto pencil.

• OK, I was a screenwriter, I can imagine those things – but only in a movie with a Zombie Apocalypse in the second act.
• And both sides will change-a-lot-of-it-a-little; re-read my earlier rant on the “We are the Deciders” process.

The board fearlessly suggested that someone else should do the brave thing and change Prop 13 …but most of the meeting was spent dodging hard questions and potential controversy by postponing votes on things like approving contracts for the Inspector General and Board Secretary [both happen to be the board’s actual employees] …or (¡Heaven forfend!) confronting the damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don’t reality of the A-through-G Graduation Requirements!

Less than 10% of the electorate in 3/7ths of the District will vote Tuesday – but with so few people making the decisions (< 4.28% of the constituency motivated by > $4.6 million dollars spent on the campaigns ≥$1 million per percentage-point-of-voters) …it’s best not to offend anyone!

A case in point: THE BIG PICTURE CHARTER SCHOOL (read below). A tiny school with less than 100 students. A program that cannot possibly sustain itself according to its own business plan. A school so small that Green Dot kicked them out. BPCS serves a very challenged student body; it’s a good idea – but as the GE commercial reminds us: “Ideas are scary, messy, and fragile…”

Vanessa Romo writes in LASR - (also quoted below; “the truth shall set you free” …and the repeated truth will set you freer repeatedly): “A common complaint by the general public about the school board is that the seven representatives walk into meetings with their minds made up on most issues. While members may have heard from parents, students and teachers on any given issue, the impression at scheduled meetings is that many agenda items are voted on with little discussion. That is especially true on items passed by a single “consent” vote.

“And it’s not uncommon for public speakers to halt their remarks or even interrupt their allotted three minutes to address the board to reprimand board members for behaving like bad students: failing to make eye contact, fiddling with their phones, chatting with a colleague or giving the general appearance of not listening.”

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But Tuesday there was an outbreak of humanity … or was it magical reality? And it is reported the board and superintendent (I wasn’t there, I can’t verify it) actually listened to the Big Picture presenters. They listened and they may have done the right thing. Even if doing the right thing is postponing doing the wrong thing.

THERE’S PLENTY TO KEEP YOUR HOPES UP about the State and LAUSD Budget in the news feeds. The California Senate passed the Vaccination Bill and sent it to the Assembly. Notwithstanding the “R.I.P. NCLB” article below (“The body is cold, the obituary written. All that’s left for the federal No Child Left Behind Law is to pull the plug — and, crucially, for the U.S. Congress to agree on what comes next”) - nothing perceptiblehappened in DC on education policy. The 1% continue to try and buy LAUSD Board Seats like they are seats on the New York Stock Exchange. Except the NYSE stopped selling seats back in 2005. I suppose the Waltons and Gates and Broads and Bloombergs of this world have to sit somewhere.

TUESDAY IS ELECTION DAY: If you are one of the 3/7ths of the LAUSD residents who get to vote – and if you haven’t voted yet – please do it, BECAUSE OUR < 4.8% TRUMPS THE 1% ONLY IF WE VOTE.

Jackie Goldberg pointed out that LA has never had an election on May 19th before. With the new election schedule approved in March through Charter Amendments 1+2 we will never vote on May 19th again. This is truly history!

It you are a teacher or school staff member or parent or student at a school in Board District 3, 5 or 7 – or if you live in 3, 5 or 7 - go vote. It’s too late to vote by mail, but if you have a mail in-ballot vote it and take it and five friends with you to the polls. If you teach at a Board District 3, 5 or 7 school even if you don’t live in the area tell five people who do to vote.

Ask them to vote for SCHMERELSON, KAYSER & VLADOVIC because things are getting better in LAUSD; they’re getting better all the time …and we still have a long, long way to go.

If you are a UTLA member wear UTLA red on Election Day, it’s a Tuesday after all. That t-shirt will be perfectly accessorized with an “I VOTED” sticker.

On Tuesday We Are The Deciders. Vote like the future depends on your vote …because they do!

¡Onward/Adelante!

 

(Scott Folsom is a parent and parent leader in LAUSD. He is the former President of Los Angeles 10th District PTSA and represents PTA as Vice-chair the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee. Scott is a member of the California State PTA Board on Managers. He blogs at the excellent 4 LA Kids … where this perspective was originally posted.)

-cw

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 13 Issue 41

Pub: May 19, 2015