On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted 4-3 to support three anti-charter school bills. The decision of the school board makes clear that appeasing politically and financially motivated teachers unions is a greater priority than the best interests of students and parents.
Charter schools are public schools freed from many of the constraints of state and district policies. As charters have grown in popularity, opponents, including United Teachers Los Angeles, have grown uncomfortable with the competition and launched campaigns to undermine them. Toward this end, UTLA-backed board members Scott Schmerelson and George McKenna proposed the resolution in support of UTLA-backed Assembly bills 1360 and 1478 and state Senate Bill 808.
SB808 is the most harmful of the group. Proposed by Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, the bill is so bad Mendoza said Monday he won’t even ask for a vote when it goes before committee. The bill would no longer allow a county or state board of education to authorize charters, make it easier for districts to deny charter applications and gut due process. Outgoing board member Monica Ratliff suggested dropping SB808 from the resolution, but was voted down, with Steve Zimmer and Richard Vladovic joining Schmerelson and McKenna to support it.
This adds yet another reason for voters in Zimmer’s District 4, which includes Encino, Tarzana and Woodland Hills, to vote for Nick Melvoin in the May 16 school board runoff. Melvoin correctly observed that Tuesday’s vote demonstrates “the current board continues to have an ‘us vs. them’ mentality that’s behind these anti-charter resolutions.”
Kelly Gonez, a teacher seeking to fill the seat of Ratliff in District 6, which includes North Hollywood, San Fernando and Van Nuys, also expressed disappointment in the vote. “I would urge the California Legislature to work with all interested parties on ways to advance the goals of accountability and inclusion of charters without hindering the ability of high-quality, effective charter schools to operate,” she said.
Tuesday’s disgraceful vote is a reminder the district could use the reasonable perspectives of Melvoin and Gonez on the board to help lead the district in the right direction.
