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Ignore Parents At Your Peril
The largest school district led by a democratically elected Board is known for inadequate engagement with parents. Is it getting worse?
“Just saying engagement over and over again does not make it engagement.”
– LAUSD Parent in 2018
As one of his last acts before being forced from office, Ref Rodriguez helped to reelect Monica Garcia as the LAUSD Board President. This kept the block of members elected with the support of the Charter School Industry in control of the District’s direction even as the board operated at a 3–3 deadlock with its three members matched by three members who supported public education.
The public demanded that former Board Member Jackie Goldberg be appointed to fill the convicted felon’s seat until a special election could be held, but Rodriguez’s allies Nick Melvoin and Garcia joined with Richard Vladovic to block this proposal. The residents of Board District 5 would go unrepresented for almost a year while the election process played out.
One result of this lack of representation was a strike by UTLA, the union representing teachers. Rather than meet with…
