The District representatives were not helpful in suggesting remedies” – Cheryl Ortega Under what circumstances should the police be called on a five-year-old child? According to parents at Mayberry Elementary School in the Silver Lake/Echo Park area of Los Angeles, the principal has called the Los Angeles Police Department about students under her charge on […]
LAUSD’s Board District 5 Is Still Unrepresented
We are living at a time in our nation when democracy and true representative government is being attacked and eroded at every level of leadership” – LAUSD Board Member Scott Schmerelson It has been almost three months since the LAUSD School Board rejected Board Member Scott Schmerelson’s “Providing a Voice and a Vote for the […]
Abandoned Representation
Recently, I was presented with an amazing opportunity in the private sector to work with some of the most brilliant and well-respected leaders in their industry. While I didn’t seek this out – sometimes tremendous opportunities find you” – LA City Councilman Mitch Englander Republican Mitch Englander spent $404,421.93 during his last re-election campaign in […]
Marshall Tuck’s Financial Support of Convicted Felon Ref Rodriguez
Rodriguez’s misdeeds…made a mockery of the laws governing elections.” – LA Times Editorial Board By the time the last vote was counted in the 2015 LAUSD School Board election, it was the most expensive school board race in the history of the country. The impending cost to run for the Board District 5 seat was […]
Will Students Drown in a Charter School’s Ocean of Debt?
Where am I going to leave her today? I have to call in sick.“ – Parent of Student enrolled in a closed charter school Imagine if the LAUSD decided that one of their schools was draining resources from the District and decided to shut it down just days into the start of the school year. […]
Proposed LAUSD Board Resolution Would Give Board District 5 Representation
The constituents of Board District 5 endured a tainted election in 2015 and have suffered the absence of a legitimate office holder since July 1, 2015, and therefore immediately deserve a respected and experienced voice and representation on the Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District“ – LAUSD Board Member Scott Schmerelson Ref […]
Is This What Democracy Looks Like in the LAUSD?
This is a very surreptitious way of doing business whereby you’re trying to hide…something perhaps you don’t want us to know.“ – Roberto Fonseca, LAUSD Parent LAUSD Board members elected with the support of the charter industry held a majority for a little over a year before Ref Rodriguez was forced to resign after committing […]
LAUSD Board Member Ref Rodriguez Resigns. Now what?
Rodriguez’s misdeeds…made a mockery of the laws governing elections.“ – LA Times Editorial Board When Ref Rodriguez was first charged with felonies related to his 2015 election to the LAUSD School Board, his attorney declared that it was “much ado about nothing“. It actually amounted to a great deal since Rodriguez is now a convicted […]
What Message Does Ref Rodriguez Send to the Children of Los Angeles?
My focus remains on my job and duties as a board member.“ – Ref Rodriguez It has been nine months since the news broke that LAUSD Board Member Ref Rodriguez was being charged with participating in a conspiracy that hid the true source of almost $25,000 in campaign donations from the public. While his lawyer […]
Whack-A-Mole: The Los Angeles Approach to Charter School Oversight
Our oversight is “proactive and responsive” – José Cole-Gutiérrez, LAUSD Charter School Division Last June, I informed the LAUSD School Board that a charter school under their jurisdiction was violating the privacy of their students by publishing “Parent Volunteer Hours” reports on their website that included student names. The charter’s Chief Development Officer defended the […]