MAILANDER MUSINGS - Spiting the naysayers, Bennett Kayser took a strong maverick action against the local Community Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday, releasing carefully-honed comments that admonish the LAUSD to file an amicus brief in support of Governor Brown's effort to redirect money from redevelopment agencies to schools. Snips from the statement follow.
“My loyalty is to the youth we are here to serve. Let the lobbyists, developers, millionaires and billionaires fight for their gravy but my job is to represent our kids...
“Based on LAUSD’s 2010-2011 Salary Table and Rates, a teacher with 30 years teaching experience and 98 units beyond a bachelor’s degree receives $71,364 in salary excluding benefits. According to CRA/LA’s website, the average annual salary for an employee is $91,562.85 before one of four levels of benefits are added. The lowest pay listed is $52,452 for a Clerical Assistant II...
“This is a statewide drain on resources involving $5.5 billion. While the City of Palm Desert is using redevelopment money to improve the grass at a 4.5 star golf resort, children are suffering and public education is being irreparably harmed. In fact, that school district in March approved laying-off 85 educators! Where are our priorities? Mine are with the children; I am honored to join the Governor, the legislature and the State Controller in this fight.”
Developers, millionaires, billionaires"...despite success or failure, you get a feeling you know what side of this debate Monica Garcia's former chief of staff Luis Sanchez [link] would have been on.
(The Board approved Bennett’s motion Tuesday afternoon. Here’s that report.
(Joseph Mailander is a writer, an LA observer and a contributor to CityWatch. He blogs at street-hassle.blogspot.com where this column first appeared.) –cw
Tags: Bennett Kayser, CRA, Community Redevelopment Agency, Governor Brown, Monica Garcia, School Board, LAUSD
CityWatch
Vol 9 Issue 76
Pub: Sept 23, 2011
