FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Contact: Carl Petersen

(818) 869-0309

The Avance L. A. Democratic Club is unable to reach a consensus in the LAUSD District 2 Board Race

The Avance Democratic Club, whose mission “is to build Latino political power”, met this evening within the boundaries of LAUSD’s District 2 to consider an endorsement for the March 7, 2017, election. Incumbent Mónica García, who did not attend the meeting and was represented by a surrogate, fell short of the 50%+1 threshold needed to secure the recommendation of the club. Like the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, and Stonewall Democratic Club, Avance will provide no endorsement in the race.

“If is bad enough that Mónica García has yet to face the voters and answer their questions in any of these endorsement meetings, but then she sent a surrogate who brushed off the $1.3 billion iPad fiasco as merely a technical glitch,” said Carl Petersen, one of García’s opponents in the March election. “I wonder if he realizes that the same people financing García’s campaign are listing the iPads as one of the reasons that Steve Zimmer should not be re-elected in District 4.”

Unlike his opponents, Petersen was a consistent critic of former Superintendent John Deasy, who brought the iPad Scandal and the MiSiS Crisis to the LAUSD. He is endorsed by Scott Gerber, the former Special Education Representative for UTLA, Network for Public Education (NPE) Action, the North Valley Democratic Club and Nancy Pearlman, a Los Angeles Community College District Trustee.

All three District 2 candidates are scheduled to appear tomorrow night, February 10 at 6:00 at Cal State LA’s Student Union Theatre.

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Carl J. Petersen is a parent, special education advocate and a candidate in LAUSD’s District 2. He is endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action and Diane Ravitch called him a “strong supporter of public schools.” For additional information, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com

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PERDAILY.COM

Carl Petersen (@ChangetheLAUSD) is a prolific tweeter, who has averaged 12.7 tweets a day since June. Almost all of them tweet at his opponent, Monica Garcia. In fact, he has mentioned Monica Garcia 229 times.

Monica Garcia (@Monica4LAUSD) on the other hand has averaged 3.5 tweets a day during that time, has not mentioned Carl Petersen once.

Anyone who regularly attends LA Unified school board meetings will be familiar with Carl J. Petersen, who frequently addresses the board, and often is critical of what they are doing. Lately, he has been wearing one of his many “Carl Petersen for School Board” T-shirts.

Petersen, 49, ran against Tamar Galatzan as one of five candidates in the San Fernando Valley that forced her into a run-off, and then he threw his support for Scott Schmerelson who defeated her.

This time, he is running against Mónica García in District 2 in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. He is renting a room in the district and said his wife, Nicole, and three daughters will soon follow...

In order for children on the autism spectrum to reach their full potential, parents and teachers must work closely together to tailor an educational program that meets each child’s unique needs. For those with mild to severe disabilities, the law specifies that the procedures used be formalized in an Individualized Education Program (IEP). A well executed IEP meeting is a collaborative effort between parents and the team involved in the child’s education.

Faced with two daughters who had stalled in their progress, my wife and I prepared ourselves for a new round of IEPs. Both meetings started well, with the other participants either agreeing with our assessments or providing suggestions that built upon our ideas. However, in the end, they refused to write these into the IEPs. In each case, we were pulled aside by someone who risked their employment with the LAUSD to explain that the District that would not allow them to include what we all agreed was the best course of action.

Please list your top 4 priorities for the elective office you are seeking.

1. “Increase graduation
2. Increase 3rd grade reading
3. Reduce suspensions
4. Reduce drop-outs”

- Monica Garcia

There are many challenges facing the LAUSD. As an example, just last month the District warned state and county officials that it “may not be able to meet its financial obligations in upcoming years because it faces a cumulative deficit of $1.46 billion through the 2018-2019 school year.” It is also fighting a $1 billion lawsuit filed by Mark Geragos against the LAUSD on behalf of teachers who were victimized by the District’s Teacher Jail program. Parents of children with moderate to severe special education needs are also suing the District in an effort to keep special education centers open. Most concerning, incumbent Board member Monica Garcia states that “most of our kids, all of our kids can’t read.”

“Federal agents raided the offices of a network of Los Angeles charter schools Wednesday as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of fraud and fiscal mismanagement.”

- Los Angeles Times, 1/25/17

Exempting charters “from many of the regulations that govern traditional schools” was supposed to be a way to remove barriers to innovation. Unfortunately, this also provided a way for unscrupulous operators to profit from education funds. As an example, the principal of El Camino Real Charter High School got caught charging “first-class airfare and luxury hotel rooms” and personal charges on his school credit card was “punished” with a $215k severance payout. Granada Hills Charter High School made unauthorized transfers from its Associated Student Body bank account. The latest example may be the Celerity Educational Group, which was raided today by federal agents.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 23, 2017
Contact: Carl Petersen
(818) 869-0309

The Stonewall Democratic Club voted tonight to provide “No Endorsement” in the LAUSD District 2 Board Race

A week after failing to secure the endorsement of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, incumbent Mónica García was rejected tonight by the Stonewall Democratic Club. Instead of supporting her re-election, the club, one of “the largest Democratic Clubs in California”, voted to provide “No Endorsement” in the race.

Los Angeles County Democratic Party voted tonight to provide “No Endorsement” in the LAUSD District 2 Board Race

Incumbents can usually expect the support of their party when they run for reelection. However, after ten years on the LAUSD Board, Mónica García was unable to inspire the confidence of her fellow Los Angeles County Democrats. Tonight the party delegates accepted on a consensus vote the Endorsement Committee’s recommendation of “No Endorsement”.