The press has focused on the possibility that the District's $6-million chatbot deal may have been the reason for the raids. Questions have already been raised about why a company with no real AI experience was awarded the contract. Those concerns intensified after criminal fraud charges were filed against its founder. Just months after it was launched, the system was taken offline.
Unless the raids are quickly proven to be legally indefensible, there is little chance that the public will find out specific details in the three months leading up to the primary elections. This puts the incumbents in a precarious position as they will have to explain their lack of public oversight of the Superintendent's performance, especially after they voted unanimously to extend his contract. Whether this will intensify an election season already shaping up to be less favorable to incumbents remains to be seen.
"Lucy, you've got some 'Splainin' to do!"
-- Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy
Carl Petersen is a former Green Party candidate for the LAUSD School Board and a longtime advocate for public education and special needs families. Now based in Washington State, he writes about politics, culture, and their intersections at TheDifrntDrmr.
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