Change The LAUSD

“Carpetbagger: A person from the northern states who went to the South after the Civil War to profit from the Reconstruction.”

If the picture on the front of the latest Monica Garcia flyer to hit your mailbox looks familiar, it is because it was the same one that the California Charter School Association (CCSA) used in its unethical campaign against Bennett Kayser. However, this time instead of falsely accusing Kayser of trying to stop Latino children from attending schools in white neighborhoods, they are claiming that “every child deserves the same level of educational funding no matter who they are or where they live.” (emphasis mine) This is just the latest example of how the CCSA and their pawn Garcia really do not care about reducing the achievement gap for the students of District 2.

Carl Petersen, who is running against García, said during public comment, “Most, if not all, of you are recipients of special interest money. They are trying to influence how you do your job.”

“I think the charter forces sometimes forget the kids that are actually enrolled in the district get left behind. Mónica García has been particularly guilty of that," said Carl Petersen, who moved from Northridge to unincorporated East L.A. late last year specifically to challenge García.

What is your name and what office are you running for?

Carl J. Petersen, LAUSD School Board District 2

What are the 3 most pressing issues facing your district or city? Please prioritize them. What if anything do you plan to do about them if you are elected? What specific promises will you make to the voters in order to be elected? What will be your primary focus if elected to office?

1. The impending financial bankruptcy of the LAUSD: Programs like John Deasy’s iPads for All and MiSiS have drained resources from the District while it also hemorrhages students due to the unwillingness to compete with the charters. The incumbent brags about adding new school facilities but does not explain why this was done while the District was facing demographic shifts that would make these new buildings unnecessary. In the meantime, older schools still have drinking fountains that leach lead into the water consumed by our children. The taxpayers of this District need a leader who will provide proper oversight of the Superintendent to ensure that their money is actually spent on educating their children and not costly programs that benefit those who pay for her campaign.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 16, 2017

Contact: Carl Petersen (818) 869-0309 or Nelson Pichardo (818) 281-1179 

Upstart Candidates Look Forward to Working Together to Build an LAUSD That Is More Responsive to Its Stakeholders

Patty Lopez and Carl J. Petersen are both long-term activists for better public schools with reputations for defying expectations. Lopez is best known for toppling Raul Bocanegra to become an Assemblywoman for the 39th district in the 2014 election. Petersen had the lowest cost per vote (69 cents) in the 2015 Los Angeles municipal elections as part of a field of candidates who forced incumbent Tamar Galatzan into a runoff where she ultimately lost her seat. Neither had support from the establishment.

"Petersen was the only one who launched into attacks on García, a few times citing stories and quotes from LA School Report."

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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