LAUSD BD5 School Board Endorsement: Karla Griego

“At every stage in my career, I have worked to create spaces for community input.”

– Karla Griego’s website

Nestled in southeast Los Angeles, LAUSD’s BD5 has seen a lot of turmoil within the last decade. First, the Charter School Industry spent millions on a campaign that falsely accused the incumbent, public school champion Bennett Kayser, of trying “to stop Latino Children From Attending Schools in White Neighborhoods” and mocked his diagnosis of Parkinson's. The tactics were successful and Kayser was replaced by charter school operator Ref Rodriguez. However, after pleading guilty to felony charges, Rodriguez was forced from office, leaving BD5 unrepresented until the voters chose Jackie Goldberg to replace him in a Special Election. Then the Board District was radically reshaped in a redistricting process tainted by corruption.

With Goldberg set to retire at the end of her term, the residents of BD5 are facing another round of change. Four candidates have qualified for the election to replace her. Are any of them capable of filling the very big shoes that she leaves behind?

Graciela Ortiz

Like all of her opponents, Ortiz is employed by the LAUSD. You might think from the picture of her in front of a classroom on her campaign website that she is a teacher, but she is actually a cog in the bureaucracy. Until reportedly being put on leave by the District, she was an administrator with the Pupil Services Department focusing on students who have attendance problems.

There are several allegations made against Ortiz revolving around the way she has raised money for her campaign. Even more concerning is a lawsuit filed against Ortiz by a former student seeking to hold her accountable for a sexual assault committed by a person alleged to have been a campaign worker employed by an astroturf organization said to be run by Ortiz. In a statement provided to me, the candidate denied responsibility for the attack, which occurred at gunpoint. She also refers to it as an “unfortunate occurrence.”

Ortiz did not answer any of the 25 questions for the LAUSD Candidate Forum series, making it difficult to assess where she stands on important issues facing the District. I would take a hard pass on this candidate.

Victorio R. Gutierrez

Gutierrez also did not participate in the LAUSD Candidate Forum series making it impossible to compare his positions to his competitors. An LAUSD teacher, dean, and principal, he has knowledge about how the District works and where its failings are, but what are his plans? His terse website gives some ideas of the subjects that he would tackle (“empower others in the community,” “protect and advocate for at-risk students”), but lacks specifics for how he would get results. I do wish that more candidates would follow his lead of advocating for “more opportunities to learn vocational skills and qualify for jobs that meet their needs and are fulfilling.”

While I admire anyone who makes the sacrifice of running for office, there is not enough meat on the bones for his candidacy. He is intriguing, but I cannot support him.

Fidencio Joel Gallardo

As Jackie Goldberg’s Education Innovation Deputy, Gallardo is the candidate most capable of maintaining continuity through the transition. He has 27 years of experience as a classroom teacher and has been an adjunct professor of education at Cal State L.A. (CSULA) for 23 years. He is also mayor of the City of Bell, giving him the legislative experience that would help him to hit the ground running.

Gallardo’s answers to the questions about Special Education for the LAUSD Candidate Forum series were thoughtful and showed his breadth of knowledge about the issue. His insistence that “Special Education services must be tailored to the needs of individual students” and that “we must move away from the District’s ‘one size fits all’ approach.” was particularly encouraging.

Unfortunately, those were the only answers received from Gallardo. I really would have liked to have seen what his approach would be to other issues facing the district.

While Gallardo’s lack of responses prevents me from endorsing him, I would like to see him advance to the general election if a runoff is required. A face-off between him and Karla Griego would be particularly interesting as it would allow the path forward for public education to be debated with two candidates who care about its future.

Karla Griego

With 19 years of experience as an LAUSD educator, Griego is familiar with the issues facing teachers in the classroom. As the mother of a high school student, she will bring a rare viewpoint to a Board of Education known for its lack of parental representation.

In addition to answering questions about Special Education, Griego replied to the PROP-39 Co-Locations, Student Safety, and The Budget editions of the LAUSD Candidate Forum Series. The only ones she missed were the questions about Governance.

The answers provided reflected Griego’s experience, particularly as a Special Education teacher. They were well aligned with my progressive values and kept the focus on students.

PROP-39 Co-Locations:

Special Education:

Safety:

The Budget:

If I was a constituent of BD5, I would have a hard time choosing between Gallardo and Griego. However, for me, Griego’s willingness to answer more of my questions gives her the edge.

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Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.