Currently browsing School Boards
Voting rights violation filed against Cerritos-based ABC Unified
A civil rights group has sued the Southern California-based ABC Unified School District, alleging its at-large method of electing district trustees violates the California Voting Rights Act by denying Latino candidates a fair chance at winning a seat. ABC, which serves students in the cities of Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, and sections of Lakewood, Long Beach and Norwalk, hasn’t had a Latino on the school board in more than 15 years, even though 32 percent of residents within the district’s boundaries are Latino, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday by MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund. Nearly 44 percent of students in the district are Latino, according to the state Department of Education. All seven current board members live in the city of Cerritos, which has the largest population in the district, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Quick Hits, School Boards
Aspire and State Board give up fight over controversial charters
After a six-year legal battle, Aspire Public Schools and the State Board of Education have agreed to give up the permit that enabled Aspire to open a half-dozen charter schools without local district approval. The much-watched settlement, reached last month, will likely discourage the State Board from granting similar “statewide benefit charters” and marks a clear victory for the California School Boards Association, the California Teachers Association and other education groups that had filed suit. They … Read entire article »
Filed under: Charter Schools, Featured, Reporting & Analysis, School Boards, State Board of Education
Victorious LAUSD incumbent vows to keep challenging Deasy
Having presented the Los Angeles School Board election races as a referendum on Superintendent John Deasy’s future, the club of six- and seven-figure donors in Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Coalition for School Reform may have succeeded in making Deasy’s life more complicated. For the $3.6 million it spent, the Coalition did end up helping to elect one candidate it supported, Board President Monica Garcia. A second, Antonio Sanchez, is the leader heading into the runoff election later … Read entire article »
Filed under: 2012 election, Featured, Reporting & Analysis, School Boards
LAUSD Board of Education Election Results
In the hot contests for three seats on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, incumbent board president Monica Garcia has won her race in District 1, incumbent Steve Zimmer has edged out Kate Anderson in District 2, and Antonio Sanchez is ahead of Monica Ratliff in District 4, because neither won more than 50 percent of the vote, they will face each other in a runoff election on May 21. For latest results, check out KPCC, the LA School Report and the Los Angeles Times. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Elections, Quick Hits, School Boards
Districts drop at-large elections to comply with voting rights law
Next week, Pasadena Unified voters will elect school board members by trustee areas for the first time, switching from at-large elections in which all candidates compete districtwide. Education Week reports that dozens of California school districts have switched to trustee areas to encourage racial and ethnic diversity on their boards and avoid being sued under the California Voting Rights Act of 2001. The law outlaws at-large elections that thwart minority voters from electing candidates of their choice. The EdWeek piece quotes Peter Fagan, a partner in the Los Angeles-based law firm Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost, who says, “While not all school districts are rushing to shift, in today’s budget climate very few have the desire to fight these lawsuits. The only safe harbor for districts is to shift to trustee-area elections, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Quick Hits, School Boards, State Board of Education
Wealthy donors oppose union candidates for LAUSD board
It’s not quite the governor’s race, but the war chests are growing as opponents to candidates aligned with the teachers union are trying to get their own candidates elected to the Los Angeles Board of Education. According an article in the Los Angeles Times, opponents have raised $1.5 million, mostly from a small group of wealthy donors, including education and arts philanthropist Eli Broad, who gave $250,000 to the Coalition for School Reform. The coalition, which includes Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, strongly supports the policies of John Deasy, superintendent of Los Angeles Unified, according to the Times. The coalition is conducting an independent campaign backing its preferred candidates for three open seats. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Elections, Governance, Quick Hits, School Boards
Should America look to school boards as the model for democracy?
With the November election behind us, it’s a good time to reflect on what works and doesn’t work in our democracy. Clearly there are amazing things about the American system, but this election was an extraordinary illustration of how far the U.S. political system has strayed from its intentions and ideals. In addition to the particularly egregious efforts such as active voter suppression, we observed a record amount of election spending and the noxious influence of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, School Boards
The Prop 30 windfall – not yet
When Proposition 30 won on Tuesday, it led a sweep of nearly two dozen local school parcel taxes and close to a hundred local school bonds approved by Californians that together will bring in tens of billions in new revenue for education. And some of those voters are already asking when their local schools will be rehiring laid-off teachers, reopening school libraries, and installing new technology. It will not be easy to explain that, at … Read entire article »
Filed under: Funding and Taxation, Initiatives, Parcel Tax, Reporting & Analysis, Revenue and taxes, School Boards, State Budget, Taxes
Contrary to common wisdom, nothing is ‘away’ from the classroom
Readers of my posts know that I often challenge the conventional wisdom within public education circles – a public sector “mythbuster” if you will – whether it be the myth of furlough days or the hollow critique of “waste, fraud, and abuse.” Another of my favorite examples is the all too often stated “truism” that if a school district needs to make budget cuts (as we all have had to do recently), it’s best to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Evaluations, Parents, Principals and Administrators, School Boards
Let’s bring the Brown Act into the 21st century
January 21st, 2013 | 11 Comments | By Seth Rosenblatt / commentary
Both lauded and maligned—and perhaps occasionally violated—the Brown Act has been an integral part of California politics for over half a century. The Ralph M. Brown Act, often referred to as California’s “open meetings law,” was first passed in 1953 to ensure that work of publicly elected bodies was done openly and transparently. It also remains one of the most confusing pieces of legislation, particularly for “amateur” politicians such as school board members, because of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Featured, School Boards