Change The LAUSD

“If parents are not happy with the school program, it is a school of choice. They are free (and indeed encouraged) to remove their kids from the school. There are plenty of other public school options for their children.”

-Mr. Tschang, former KIPP Principal

As I walked off stage at the only debate in the race for LAUSD’s District 2’s Board seat, a student walked up to me to express his support and to say that “we need you on the Board.” I thanked him and also assured him that I would continue fighting for the students of the District, win or lose. This pledge immediately came to mind as I found a flyer delivered by the District to the house in East L.A. where I had rented a room in order to run against Monica Garcia and her allegiance to charters. The public school closest to where I had lived for the past six months is scheduled to become the latest host for a charter school parasite and the District had scheduled an informational meeting to discuss the issue. On Tuesday morning I attended this meeting with approximately 60 parents of Marianna Avenue Elementary school. According to the flyer, staff was also invited to this meeting, but how exactly were they supposed to participate while school was in session? So much for the LAUSD’s goal of “parent and community engagement”.

“Financial records obtained by The Times show that, as Celerity’s CEO, [Vielka McFarlane] paid for many of these expenses with a credit card belonging to her charter schools, which receive the bulk of their funding from the state.”

- Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2017

 When the LAUSD denied two Celerity charter renewals in October LAUSD Charter School Division (CSD) Director José Cole-Gutiérrez was quoted as saying that they had “severe concerns with regard to their lack of transparency. We are not even clear who the board members are.” Since then, the FBI and other federal agents have raided the offices of Celerity Educational Group “collecting laptops and copying data from computers”.  The Los Angeles Times has also written two exposés on the publicly funded private schools that included charges that Celerity provided “few school supplies but [held] a lavish party” and the CEO, who was paid $471,842, paid for extravagant “expenses with a credit card belonging to her charter schools”. All this was not enough to stop the District from offering Celerity co-location space at Arminta Street Elementary School under Proposition 39.

Tuesday is Election Day!
The charters are spending millions to buy control of the LAUSD.
Your vote can stop them.

CLICK HERE to find your polling place.

"The ferocity of CCSA’s attack is particularly visible and ironically so in LAUSD4 because Steve Zimmer defies the Charter movements bid for educational hegemony. But in fact their most obligated, least-forbearing minion is not even among the pair opposing Zimmer but has been entrenched in LAUSD2 since 2006. Not Zimmer, but in fact Mónica Garcia was the board’s president at the time of the iPad debacle. It was she who was ensconced at the foot of the board-U, shepherding Eli Broad’s unvetted and unqualified vassal John Deasy via then-superintendent Ramón Cortines, personally enabling one of the larger proposed heists of public monies in memory.

Why is it that she is not held accountable for selling out the district?

“ASB funds can never be used to loan money to any group or individual”

- GHCHS’ ASB Handbook

As quoted by the LAUSD Charter School Division

Although parents were never notified, the LAUSD’s Charter School Division (CSD) issued a Notice to Cure to Granada Hills Charter High School (GHCHS) on September 21, 2016. This notice that specified “Immediate Action Required” was issued as a direct result of my investigation that found that the charter’s administration was improperly using “funds of a student body organization” for their payroll obligations. These funds were raised by the student body, are owned by the students of the school and are required to be under the direct control of the Associated Student Body (ASB) council. The law specifically prohibits these funds from being used to pay for items, like payroll, that are supposed to be paid for by the school.

“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.