KLCS Dismissed
“Austin Beutner you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side.”
- LAUSD Parents and Students
As if the responsibility for educating 694,096 students was not enough, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) also owns and operates a television station. KLCS is part of the Public Broadcasting System and one of the Los Angeles homes for Sesame Street. It is also responsible for broadcasting and live-streaming public meetings held by the LAUSD Board. For many working parents, this is the only way to oversee the actions of their School Board.
Read moreThe NRA Misses the Target with Their "Good Guy with a Gun" Strategy
While others struggled to flee the Borderline Bar and Grill, Ventura County Sergeant Ron Helus and a still unnamed California Highway Patrol officer ran towards danger. As Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub told reporters: “Both Sgt. Helus and the CHP officer knowingly and willingly went into what can only be described as a combat situation, risking their own lives to save many others”. The two officers were the ultimate good guys with guns; Helus was a 29-year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and the CHP officer was a nine-year veteran of the CHP and had a military background. At the end of the encounter with a mass-murderer, the CHP officer pulled Helus’ dying body out of the building. The coroner later revealed that it was his gun that likely delivered the bullet that ultimately ended Helus’ life. Neither police officer managed to hit the shooter.
Read moreDismantling Our Public Schools
“The District representatives were not helpful in suggesting remedies”
- Cheryl Ortega
Under what circumstances should the police be called on a five-year-old child? According to parents at Mayberry Elementary School in the Silver Lake/Echo Park area of Los Angeles, the principal has called the Los Angeles Police Department about students under her charge on six different occasions. In one incident, a kindergarten student was questioned by police after he “pulled his pants down to a playmate”. When the boy’s mother, Britney Ingram, attempted to find out what was happening, she was told by the officers that the matter was a “confidential problem”, that she could not “be present while they questioned her son” and “that if her son did not testify they would take him to the police station.” Another parent who attempted to record the events was removed from the school at the direction of the principal despite the fact that she “was a registered [school] visitor at the time this happened”.
Read moreThe LAUSD Widget Factory
“All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall”
- Roger Waters
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) School Experience Survey is an opportunity for parents and guardians to grade the District’s performance. Included in this questionnaire are important statements such as “Reports of bullying are taken seriously at this school” and “This school encourages my child to explore different career choices.” These apply to all students and are benchmarks on which all schools deserve to be judged.
Read moreGeorge H.W. Bush Led a Different America
“You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well.”
- George Bush to Bill Clinton
January 20, 1993
My birth as an activist occurred during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. As the GOP gained traction in their attempts to overturn Roe vs. Wade, I spent many Saturday mornings protecting access to women’s health care clinics as mobs of anti-abortion protesters tried to shut them down using physical force. Often standing by my side were members of the activist LGBTQ+ community who exposed me to the personal side of their fight, which at that time included an AIDs epidemic that was unchecked.
Read moreUniversal Acceptance
- Sesame Place
As parents of two daughters on the autism spectrum, my wife and I have made it a priority to make sure that they are not hidden away from the world. Jeopardizing our own sanity at times, we have worked through their challenges to include them on family adventures. When successful, we have been rewarded with the joy of watching our daughter dancing and singing along at her first Queen concert. On the other side of the spectrum, I’ve also sat outside an auditorium trying to calm down her overly stimulated sister.
Read moreThe Real War on Christmas
- Donald Trump, July 2018
It may have only been July, but the President had Christmas on his mind. Moving on from his war against contracting STDs, Donald Trump declared that he had personally saved Christmas. The holiday was no longer “under siege.” Now pass the suntan lotion.
LAUSD's Board District 5 Is Still Unrepresented
- LAUSD Board Member Scott Schmerelson
It has been almost three months since the LAUSD School Board rejected Board Member Scott Schmerelson’s “Providing a Voice and a Vote for the Constituents of Board District 5” resolution. As a result, the seat vacated by Ref Rodriguez has remained empty as the LAUSD careens towards a teacher’s strike. One-seventh of the LAUSD’s stakeholders have had no voice while Superintendent Austin Beutner is working on a secret plan to make another attempt at reorganizing the District’s bureaucracy. Parents had no one to turn to as yet another under-regulated charter school within Board District 5’s boundaries closed down in the middle of the school year.
Read moreA City Councilman's Parting Gift
- LA City Councilman Mitch Englander
Ignoring the responsibilities that he accepted by running for re-election, Mitch Englander announced last month that he would be “vacating [his] Council seat as of December 31, 2018.” While promising that he would stay “laser-focused“ on the needs of his constituents during his remaining time in office, it seems that he has neglected to perform one very important task since drafting his announcement to the community; it seems that a formal letter of resignation has not been submitted to the Los Angeles City Council. Therefore, they have been unable to schedule a special election for the community to select his replacement.
LAUSD Increases Salary Offer, Teachers Hold Out for Students
“Salary: 6% on-schedule raise, including 3% retroactive for 2017-18, plus 3% raise for 2018-19”
- LAUSD
The LAUSD has already signed contracts with their other major unions that “included raises totaling about 6%.” It was, therefore, unclear why the District’s initial offer to the teachers was to only raise their salaries by 2%. This seemed to be especially insulting after Board Members received a raise of at least 174% and Superintendent Austin Beutner was given a contract with a base salary of $350,000 after his supporters initially told the Board that he was willing to work for free.
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