58 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 23 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds   

Another Neighborhood Council Calls For Co-Location Moratorium

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   No comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Carl Petersen
Become a Fan
  (6 fans)
"Reopening schools too soon and without good safety protocols puts far too many people at risk, from teachers and school staff to children and their parents."
- Los Angeles Times

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Los Angeles and increase the strain on our healthcare system, the return of students to LAUSD classrooms seems further away than ever. However, at some point schools will reopen. When they do, strict safety measures are going to have to be put in place to ensure student safety. This will include smaller class sizes and the ability to test and institute contact tracing.

For public schools whose campuses are co-located with charter schools under Prop-39, it will be more difficult to enact these safety procedures. Since courts have allowed the charter school to take possession of any area that does not have a teacher assigned to it, there is little space left for the public school to spread students out and enforce social distancing. Also, since there are two different management teams on campus, the free flow of information through the campus could be compromised, particularly in cases where there is animosity between the two schools. This will hamper efforts to ensure that students are sent home to quarantine after coming in contact with someone who is suspected of being ill with the virus.

Since it would be unfair to remove students from a campus they are currently attending, the district has no other option than to retain current Prop-39 agreements. However, in situations where the co-located school has not yet started operations, like the Citizens of the World school that is expanding into the San Fernando Valley, pausing a co-location will not cause any harm to existing students as they have none.

If the California Charter School Association (CCSA) really cared about the welfare of children, it would support efforts to pause new co-locations. Instead, this trade group continues to play politics with the issue and spreads fear through their communities by falsely claiming that a proposed moratorium would kick charter students off of their campuses.


(Image by Harbor City Neighborhood Council)   Details   DMCA
Unable to rely on the charter school industry to do the right thing, public school communities like Shirley Avenue Elementary School in Reseda have been begging for the Los Angeles Unified District (LAUSD) to put a moratorium in place. On July 15, the Harbor City Neighborhood Council became the latest community organization to support these efforts. With a unanimous vote, these local representatives passed a resolution adopting the letter originally sent by the Northridge East Neighborhood Council to the Chair of the Los Angeles City Health, Neighborhoods, Parks, Arts, and River Committee requesting that the committee take whatever steps are necessary to encourage the Board of the LAUSD to implement a pause on new co-locations.

Even with a pro-public school majority, the LAUSD board has yet to take the necessary action to protect the students of Shirley Avenue and other schools that are slated to receive Prop-39 co-locations. The board's lack of action is blamed on the fear of being dragged into court by the powerful charter school lobby. It is time to set that fear aside and display the leadership that is needed to protect our children during this pandemic.
________________________________
Carl Petersen is a parent, an advocate for students with special education needs, an elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council, a member of the LAUSD's CAC, and was a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race. During the campaign, he was endorsed by the Network for Public Education (NPE) Action and Dr. Diane Ravitch called him a "strong supporter of public schools." Links to his blogs can be found at www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.

Rate It | View Ratings

Carl Petersen Social Media Pages: Facebook Page       Twitter Page       Linked In Page       Instagram Page

Carl Petersen is a parent, an advocate for students with special education needs, an elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council, a member of the LAUSD's CAC, and was a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race. During the campaign, the Network for Public Education (NPE) Action endorsed him, and Dr. Diane Ravitch called him a " (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Make it a Headline When Trump Actually Tells the Truth

California Senate Candidate Alison Hartson on Education

Three Headlines That Got Buried Last Week

Bright Shiny Objects: Trump's Real Art is Diverting Attention

If Money Continues to Talk, We're Screwed

Finding Hope in Florida

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend