"My goal is to drive the public school systems to once and for all address the core needs of our children and their families that will have a direct effect on their learning and lifelong purpose."
-- Dr. Rocio Rivas
Since 2015, the charter school industry and its supporters have spent over $29.6 million influencing LAUSD school board elections. This has resulted in a board that has let these publicly funded private schools propagate through the district without any meaningful oversight, which has endangered the health and safety of children and wasted taxpayer funds. It has also oversaturated neighborhoods with schools at a time when overall enrollment is declining due to demographic shifts.
During this time period, board members supporting public education have never held a clear majority, although in some years they were able to put together a coalition with Dr. Richard Vladovic, who was elected with the support of both the charter school industry and the teachers' union. Parents of children who attend LAUSD public schools have found their concerns ignored as the board's majority concerned themselves with protecting charter schools over improving the schools they were supposed to be protecting. Board members blatantly ignored parents during public comment and the Parent Engagement and Special Education Committees were prevented from meeting during the COVID-19 crisis.
With most of the votes from the November 8th election now counted, it is clear that Dr. Rocio Rivas will replace Monica Garcia on the board. This not only gives public education supporters a clear majority but will also be the first time since Tamar Galazan's defeat in 2015 that a sitting board member will have a child enrolled in LAUSD public schools. This is a victory for parents throughout the district.
Dr. Rivas won the Board District 2 seat by 5,232 votes despite being vastly outspent by supporters of Maria Brenes. Rivas' supporters spent $2,160,060 for a cost per vote of $39.16. Her opponent's supporters more than doubled that amount with expenditures totaling $4,874,528. Brenes' cost per vote was $97.63.
In Board District 6, Kelly Gonez increased the small lead she held after the initial vote tally, beating Mavin Rodriguez by just 2,559 votes. To achieve this win, Gonez's supporters spent $554,998, for a cost per vote of $10.74. Her opponent had a cost per vote of $0.01 after spending only $600. It should also be noted that Rodriguez achieved a higher percentage of the vote in his race than the high-spending Brenes did in hers. This feat is especially impressive considering the fact that Rodriguez was running against an incumbent while Brenes was competing in an open seat.
Rivas will join Jackie Goldberg, Scott Schmerelson, and Dr. George McKenna to finally form a clear majority that supports LAUSD public schools. After years of control by their ideological opponents, this new majority has a long list of things that need to be fixed in the district. The most important of these include:
- Parent Engagement: The community has been ignored for too long in the district decision-making process. The proposed Board Meeting Accessibility to the Public and Promoting Transparency by the LAUSD resolutions need to be passed and the Parent Engagement and Special Education committees should be made permanent, not subject to shutdown by the Board President.
- Special Education: Children with Special Education needs are the most vulnerable in the LAUSD and often the most neglected by policymakers. The proposed Improving Special Education Within the LAUSD resolution should be passed immediately. The superintendent should be instructed to reinstate the full availability of Aut Core and similar programs to LAUSD schools.
- Charter Schools: To restore accountability to these publicly funded private schools, the Community Representation on Charter School Governing Boards and Improving LAUSD Performance as a Regulatory Agency for Charters should be passed. The Charter School Division should be immediately forced to explain the process that was used when $7,678,022 in state-mandated overallocation fees were forgiven.
Marvin Rodriguez's strong performance against a well-funded incumbent should send a message to the board that the electorate is frustrated with the status quo. If the new majority does not differentiate themselves quickly, they will also face strong headwinds in the 2024 elections. Now is the time to act.
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He was elected to the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and is the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.