"I refuse to believe that taking rooms, resources or supports from an already historically disenfranchised student population is ever warranted."
- BD1 Candidate Kahllid Al-Alim
Kahllid Al-Alim is running for the seat currently occupied by the retiring George McKenna in LAUSD's Board District 1. As part of my ongoing Candidate Forum series, Al-Alim was asked five questions about PROP-39 co-locations. For the introduction to this subject along with answers from other candidates, please see the article LAUSD Candidate Forum: PROP-39 Co-Locations.
The following are the candidate's responses, printed exactly how he provided them with the exception of some minor formatting edits:
- Question 1: Do you support the "Creating a Charter Schools Co-Location Policy to Mitigate Impacts Caused by Proposition 39" authored by Board President Jackie Goldberg and Dr. Rocio Rivas? Yes
I join with students, parents, community members, labor and coalitions throughout the District who want to Community Schools, BSAP and other programs to thrive. This resolution is the right way forward for our children and families.
- Question 2: Under The way that PROP-39 is currently implemented, rooms used to provide Special Education Services are considered to be "empty" and must be turned over to a charter school to satisfy its demand for space. As a Board member would you work to end this discriminatory practice? Yes
Additional thoughts: I refuse to believe that taking rooms, resources or supports from an already historically disenfranchised student population is ever warranted. Rooms that provide Special Education services, mental health services, wraparound services for our children and families must be protected. My daughter is a Special Education Teacher. I am so proud of what she does every day for her students. As a Board Member I will work to make sure our most marginalized populations are protected.
- Question 3: The text of PROP-39 specifies that charter schools that base their space requests on inflated enrollment must pay an over-allocation fee. Currently, charter schools have a past-due balance of $3,708,006. As a Board Member would you revoke the charter of any school that refused to pay these fees when a bill is presented? YES
As a community member in Board District 1, I have spent 20 years fighting to bring necessary resources to our schools. I have been part of coalitions that have won Community School Funding, Black Student Achievement Plan, smaller class sizes, increased mental health supports for our children, support for our unhoused youth and families and immigrant families. These are critical victories that we have fought for and won. As a Board Member, I will work day and night to protect and expand these programs. Charter schools that owe money to LAUSD should be required to pay up. There is no reason other programs should be cut if charter schools owe LAUSD money and are refusing to pay. Let's get this right.
- Question 4: In April of last year $7,678,022 of over-allocation debt was suddenly wiped off of the balance sheet without any explanation to the public. As a Board Member would you demand an investigation to determine whether this write-off was legal and proper? Yes
The LA Times recently reported on the District's Overtime Payment scandal. We have to get to the bottom of this. Our children are being robbed funds they deserve. As a Board Member I will investigate what happened with this money that was wiped clean off the balance sheet AND I will hold those in charge accountable to the spending of any money that isn't going to our kids.
- Question 5: The North Valley Military Institute (NVMI) was co-located on the campus of Sun Valley High School / Valley Oaks Center For Enriched Studies (VOCES) when one of its administrators was accused of "abhorrent child sex abuse" against a student. It does not appear that parents of students on the public school campus were ever notified about these accusations. As a Board Member would you terminate the PROP-39 lease agreement for any charter school that put LAUSD students at a district campus in danger? Yes
- Do you have any other thoughts that you would like to express about this subject?
Public schools must be public, not run by private corporations or pseudo-corporations which are masquerading as non-profits. I have been part of successful efforts to halt privatization in LA. I have worked with schools and community organizations to stop charter expansion and co-locations over the last 20 years across all of BD1 and LAUSD. As a Board Member, I will hit the ground running on these matters in order to protect our kids.
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. 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.
