2022 LAUSD Elections

Dr. Rocio Rivas: A Commitment To Parent Engagement

While her opponent refuses to answer questions, this LAUSD school board candidate is willing to articulate her positions to voters.

This is the third in a series on engaging the LAUSD community. Please read the first part for an introduction to the issue.

“I will work tirelessly to ensure that parents’ voices are heard and respected by the LAUSD Board.”

- Board District 2 Candidate Dr. Rocio Rivas

The one glaring lesson from the June primary results for the LAUSD school board elections is that the electorate is not happy with the status quo. Both of the incumbents, Kelly Gonez and Nick Melvoin, underperformed expectations with Board President Gonez being forced into a runoff election in November. In Board District 2, Maria Brenes, Board Member Monica Garcia’s hand-picked successor, was more than 10,000 votes behind the first-place finisher despite outspending her opponent by over $462,000. If these results carry through to the November election big changes are coming to the LAUSD Board.

A chief complaint among the district stakeholders is the incumbents’ hostility towards parent engagement. To get the views of the candidates, I sent a list of questions related to this issue. True to form, Gonez, Melvoin, and Brenes refused to answer them. District 6 challenger Marvin Rodriguez sent his response during the primary election. The answers from Rocio Rivas, who is running to replace Monica Garcia on the board, are printed below.

Rivas, an LAUSD parent with a doctorate in International and Comparative Education, makes it clear in her answers that she will emphasize parent engagement if elected to the board. She pledges “to ensure that LAUSD Board meetings are fully accessible to all LAUSD community members” and will work to implement the changes outlined in the proposed Board Meeting Accessibility to the Public…