School Board Candidate Looks To Take A Step Backwards

“The LAUSD wasted $1.3 billion on a controversial iPad program that is now the subject of an FBI criminal probe.”

– California Charter School Association (CCSA)

In 2014, I jumped headfirst into LAUSD School Board politics. Frustrated with the District's refusal to provide our daughters with the Special Education services their teachers agreed they needed, I listened to my wife’s urging that I run for a seat on the Board. Not having paid attention to the workings of this body, I dedicated myself to learning all that I could and soon became a regular at meetings held at the LAUSD headquarters on South Beaudry Avenue in downtown Los Angeles.

It did not take me long to realize that my representative on the Board, Tamar Galatzan, was a huge part of the problem. As her constituents expressed their concerns to the Board, she openly ignored them, sharing snacks and chatting with Superintendent John Deasy.

This contempt for the public that paid her salary (twice as she double-dipped at the taxpayer's trough by collecting a salary for her School Board gig at the same time that she was employed as a Los Angeles City Attorney) was obvious as the campaign progressed. Instead of participating in the second of two debates with her five challengers, Galatzan showed up for the meet and greet and then left the venue.

Galatzan counterprogrammed the debate with a town hall using the resources of her BD3 district office. This resulted in Ethics complaints being filed against her. An additional allegation stated that she used LAUSD resources to print flyers that were interchangeable with her campaign literature.

It is understandable why Galatzan wanted to avoid facing her constituents; under her leadership, the LAUSD was mired in a state of perpetual chaos:

• A lawyer hired by the District to defend it against a lawsuit filed by the family of a student who had been sexually abused argued in court that a 14-year-old middle school student could consent to have sex with a teacher. The lawyer also engaged in “slut-shaming” by introducing the victim’s sexual history into the court record.
• After the Board established a pattern of not properly overseeing the superintendent, Deasy enacted a $1.3 billion program “to provide an iPad to every Los Angeles student, teacher, and school administrator.” A report by a committee investigating this program found that it “was beset by inadequate planning, a lack of transparency, and a flawed bidding process.” Galatzan focused her energy not on holding the Superintendent, whom she had helped to hire, accountable but on trying to block the reappointment of Stuart Magruder to the bond oversight committee because he dared to question the use of bond funding for these iPads.
• A judge ruled that students of LAUSD’s Jefferson High School “suffered…severe and pervasive educational deprivations” after the $13.5 million MiSiS student information system suffered catastrophic failures after Deasy ordered it turned on without it being properly tested. It cost an estimated $98 million to fix it.

Based on these and other colossal failures, Galatzan was unexpectedly forced into a runoff in the primary election. Despite massive spending by the charter school Industry, Schmerelson beat the incumbent soundly in the general election, securing 54.8% of the vote.

While an argument could be made that Schmerelson has not been forceful enough in reversing the damage that Galatzan did to the Los Angeles education system, there is no doubt that the District is in better shape than when he assumed the seat:

• The Lokrantz Special Education Center continues to fight for its survival, but it does so with the support of Schmerelson. His predecessor was an advocate for its closure.
• Charter schools are still not receiving the oversight needed to protect students, but at least Schmerelson has called out operational deficiencies at Granada Hills Charter and El Camino Charter High School instead of being a cheerleader for these publicly funded private schools.
• Under Galatzan’s leadership Calahan Elementary, Nobel Middle School, and Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies were just some of the schools in District 3 that reported a severe breakdown in the ability of parents to engage in their children’s education. Her successor is a regular visitor to the schools in his District, ensuring that he understands the issues they are facing.

With the record showing the District improving since the voters forced Galatzan’s departure, it is surprising that any candidate would look back to the good ole days of iPads, MiSiS, and attacking victims of sexual assault as inspiration for the direction of a campaign. Yet one of Schmerelson's opponents is doing just that with an endorsement from Galatzan featured on his website.

Former LAUSD Board Member and José Huizar protege Mónica García is also listed as one of Chang’s endorsers. Serving alongside Galatzan during the years of chaos, García was also known for being hostile to Special Education during her tenure, at one point complaining that the money being used to provide these services created “a serious issue to [sic] how can we serve our own kids?”

As a constituent of LAUSD Board District 3, I have still not decided who will get my vote on March 5, but Dan Chang's embrace of Galatzan and García is disqualifying. Chang may be presenting himself as being "for change,” but the change the District needs cannot be found in the past. We have already seen the damage Charter School-backed Board Members like Galatzan and García can do when they have a majority; we need to avoid that future at all costs.

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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.