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Newly elected Los Angeles school board members say they are united in their mission to protect the district’s most vulnerable students and staff, including immigrants and LGBTQ+, following a victory generally positive for Supt. said. Alberto Carvalho, teachers unions, and the failure of privately run charter schools.
All three newly elected or re-elected board members have recently announced their intention to deport immigrants, eliminate diversity programs, limit history education that they deem “woke,” and make unpatriotic and curtailed rights. I have concerns about President-elect Donald Trump. It expanded coverage to include transgender students and shut down the U.S. Department of Education.
“There’s going to be a lot of attacks on the most vulnerable students and the most vulnerable people,” said Carla Griego, the newly elected director to replace outgoing board member Jackie Goldberg. “So we must stand strong and continue to lead the way as a school district to protect our most vulnerable students, protect all the progress we have made, and continue to fight for more. ”
The big picture is that the seven trustees of the nation’s second-largest school system will continue to serve as guardians for local families, many of whom are immigrants. Their position could mark L.A. Unified as a target for President Trump, who has pledged to withhold federal funding from school systems that oppose his policies.
“With so many immigrant families, the district is working hard to keep families informed that we are here to support them, whether it be through immigrant clinics within the community. “We need to ensure that we are willing to do whatever it takes to ‘through faith-based organizations,'” said Charlette Hendy-Newbill, who will take over from George McKenna, who is also retiring. “I think this is going to be a really important part of making sure our families feel supported, especially with the looming threat from the new administration.”
The new students’ defensive stance against Trump is in line with the school board members who will join them next week. Two weeks ago, the board, without opposition, declared the school system a sanctuary for immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community while calling for more politically informed civics education.
The closest race was in District 3, which covers much of the western San Fernando Valley. In this election, incumbent Scott Schmerelson, who served two terms, received 51.6% of the vote and won his third (and final) term over middle school math teacher Dan Chan (48.4%). .
The decline in enrollment is a major problem.
In an interview, Schmerelson cited declining enrollment as a major issue going forward.
“If we don’t improve enrollment, our school system won’t survive, and I’m always trying to jump through hoops, talk to community associations, and make sure people know how great LAUSD schools are,” Schmerelson said. spoke.
Enrollment peaked in the 2002-2003 school year at 746,831 students and has declined since then. Current enrollment is approximately 409,500 students, including the recently added transitional kindergarten grade for 4-year-olds.
Reversing enrollment declines will be a tall order, given Los Angeles’ high cost of living and slowing immigration.
A pledge to keep black student achievement programs strong.
Schmerelson also spoke about making sure the school system’s special efforts to support Black students through the Black Student Achievement Plan are on track.
“This is the first time in as long as I can remember that Black and African American students have performed as well as their peers,” Schmerelson said, citing recent standardized test scores. “And I truly believe that’s because of the BSAP program, where they visit colleges and get additional social and emotional support and have the courses they need and what they want to take in their basic schedule. “And we see an increase in academics because of all of that.” ”
Activists have criticized the district for recently backing away from programs aimed exclusively at black students. After legal pressure, LA Unified made the program race-neutral to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling against race-based programs. The district did not change the name of the program, even though race does not determine who gets help.
Despite the changes, district officials still insist they can reach all Black students with significant needs.
“I’m very proud of the BSAP program and want to keep it strong,” Schmerelson said. Mr. Schmerelson represents a district with relatively few black students, but spent much of his career as a principal. Part of the area with a large black population.
All board members speak in similar terms about ensuring BSAP uplifts Black students.
super expensive race
Mr. Schmerelson’s District 3 campaign was near the highest ever for a local school board campaign, with outside groups spending more than $7.84 million on two candidates.
Recent filings show that Mr. Chan’s outside spending came from a political action committee led by former businessman Bill Bloomfield, who himself owns about $490 of more than $5.4 million. I poured in a million dollars. There was also the California Charter School Association, which was allied with Bloomfield but spent much less.
The Los Angeles teachers’ union, United Teachers Los Angeles, spent almost all of its $2.4 million in outside spending on Mr. Schmerelson.
The candidates’ own campaigns collectively raised another $670,000.
Charters are public schools within LA Unified and are mostly outside the control of the school district. The district enrolls approximately 109,000 students. Most charters are non-union. Their advocates worry that the school system will impose further restrictions on where and how schools operate. If the outcome of the election had been different, Charter supporters likely would have called for the lifting of some of the restrictions currently in place.
Griego will represent District 5, which includes areas north and northeast of downtown, including Eagle Rock, Glassell Park and Echo Park. The southeast includes the cities of Huntington Park, Maywood, and Southgate. Griego won with 61% of the vote, aided by large spending from the teachers’ union.
Charter supporters did not campaign in the 5th Ward, but generally supported Griego’s opponent, Graciela Ortiz, and led the local union of Service Employees International, the ward’s largest non-teaching union. It benefited from an external campaign funded by 99.
Griego, a longtime teacher of students with disabilities, said she plans to advocate for them. “At the federal level, we don’t provide the funding that special education needs, so we need to make sure that we do that.”
District 1, which covers much of the south and southwest parts of the school system, had no candidates favorable for charter. Hendy Newbill easily defeated Kafred Al Alim, receiving 71% of the vote.
Hendy-Newbill said the majority of the board is pro-public school, “coming from public schools, working in public schools,” which “changes the dynamic” in future decisions regarding charter schools. .
Such language is a concern for charter operators, who are quick to point out that schools are also free and open to the public.
The teachers union won two races in Schmerelson and Griego, but Hendy Newbill won without union support and considers herself teacher-friendly but independent. The teachers union recently endorsed her but did not fund a campaign on her behalf.
Hendy Newbill has worked as a teacher, dean, coach, and most recently as a senior advisor to McKenna.
Side note Mr. Carvalho could look at the election results with some relief. Hendy Neubill defeated his harshest critic. And Mr. Schmerelson was a member of the board that unanimously hired him.
In a rare case, most board members, Hendy Newbill and Griego, as well as remainers Rocio Rivas and Kelly Gonez, will become parents of students currently enrolled in the district. There is also. Perhaps never before have so many parents of district students participated in a board meeting.
“When you have parents on the school board, it changes your perspective a little bit,” Hendy-Newbill said.
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