Education Panel: Less Mayor, More Money
The grandiosely named "Presidents' Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance" has issued its report, says ABC Channel 7.Highlights:
1. Raise the pay of school board members. (I'll second that emotion; $24K to run a $7 billion operation?! Please!)
2. Impose three-term limits on them. (How about two-terms instead?)
3. The school board, not the mayor, should hire and fire superintendents.
Your thoughts, please.
Also, I know school's never really "out for summer" here in L.A. with our time-share school buildings, but how else can I justify Alice Cooper's picture?
Posted by Walter Moore @ 7/14/2006 02:05:00 PM
16 Comments:
HUIZAR PROVES AGAIN THAT HE CAN’T REPRESENT CD 14
The Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance made some surprising recommendations: (1) preserve the seven-member elected school board as the "primary governing body" of the school district; (2) decentralize district; (3) place term limits on school board members; (4) hold school board members to same campaign fundraising rules as council members; and (5) increase board member annual salaries to that of LA city council members.
Our illustrious council member has decided to champion recommendations nos. 3, 4 and 5. Why? First, and foremost, they don’t run afoul of the Mayor 2. Huizar will never stand up to the Mayor even where doing so is in the best interest of CD 14.
Second, Huizar’s move to increase Board salaries is just plain wrong. This do-nothing Board should not be rewarded with increased salaries. Monica Garcia, a sitting school board member and Jose’s former chief of staff, is introducing a motion at the District to increase her own salary and that of other board members. This is the ultimate back-scratching that many voters detest.
Jose: Why not champion the recommendations that actually have some meat and substance, like nos. 1 and 2? Take your marching orders from the voters, not the Mayor.
I agree with all of the above (except for maybe the term limits) but I think several points continue to be ignored in the press and in this blog:
1. The District is expect to bring over 100 new schools on line in the next few years which ultimely will provide an environment for a lower student to teacher ratio. I believe hundreds of studies on education this is the key step to improving education. (For the Progressives out there, think about how many studies support global warming and maybe you'll get an idea.)
This "global" change should be allowed to occur before any further major reforms are considered. The morons, including the L.A. Times and Mayor Sam, who are concerned the gentrified areas are getting new schools need to understand that public schools should not be the sole domain of the poor and, at the very least, schools proven to be obsolete could be converted to magnet schools or some other community purpose.
2. LAUSD has tried to execute school-based reforms constantly over the past two decades with very little success and most of these reforms were proposed and/or encouraged by UTLA/CTA. LEARN, Shared Governance, et al are examples of the type of "reform" that demands shared powers and alternately disperses accountability. Most, if not all, of these ideas have failed because of the lack of a clear line of authority.
For the most part these reforms are well intentioned and have tried to address the strained conditions that daily afflict the District; overcrowding, lack of funding, materials, and motivation. However, they usually share the trait of being highly theoretical and lacking any proven business model. While we are talking about administering schools and not factories, there should still be a focus on proven economics.
This is getting long so I'll continue later....
I guess instead of the above I should have added WM's post. Let me continue...
3. What is the incentive for the school ranked #30? If the Mayor is in charge of the thirty worst-performing schools and, supposedly, he will be able to provides funds and attention that most schools will not have what is the motivation for the school(s) on the verge of being kicked out of the club? What is the motivation for those schools on the verge of being invited? What happens to the planning when a new mayor steps in with a different agenda? It appears that the schools most desperately in need of continuity are likely the last ones who can expect it.
Anyone who has followed sports knows that several "teams" tank at the end of the year in order to receive a better "draft" position. Isn't this reform package encouraging this behavior, possibly to the detriment of this year's students?
4. What does this UTLA/CTA/MAV alliance say about the political priorities/ethics of the teachers' unions? UTLA/CTA spent millions of their member's dues monies on what amounted to a pledge to "Terminate the Terminator!" Millions more have been spent by the Teacher's and Democrat supporters to to nominate the "Anti-Arnold."
Now that Angelides has been lead to the altar we all need to realize he's there to be sacrificed because UTLA/CTA has decided they want the next Democrat Governor to be MAV. Are they saying that Arnold's not that bad or that Angelides is or both? Then why did they spend all that money or rally all those troops for doomed causes? What the UTLA sponsored Board majority? What message are they sending them?
The real kicker is they probably will pledge to support Angelides but will sit on the sidelines and take up the fiddle. So much for stand for what you believe in and setting an example for the kids.
5. Finally, why hasn't anyone mentioned the UTLA proposed 14% annual salary increase? What is MAV's position since the schools are his #1 priority? This time he could certainly use his "bully pulpit" to put UTLA in line if he thought such an increase would create acrimony throughout the rest of the District and blow the budget. If he's in such a hurry that his reforms can't be put to a vote, why is hesitating to state his position on this potential budget buster? MAV's silence could easily be interpreted as a "pay to play" scam but the press stopped looking for that about a year ago when they signed those "allegiance forms." Who knew Orlov and the others preferred the Soviet press model to what was previously their own? I guess having blogs do all their heavy lifting has its rewards. The Daily news in particular should be embarrassed for their editorials. They've butchered the District for decades for reform failures yet they support this one because "at least it's reform???!!!" Try explaining that in the confessional.
Sorry for the length.
Private Education and forget this non-sense
I second it
Private education
Don't EVEN get me started again on how again on how the "averaging" of a growing charter school's test scores is a fools performance measure -- especially when they're adding dozens of new non-English speakers (every year at EVERY grade... not just new rows of kindergarten kids, like most schools they might be compared to based on race, socioec, etc.)
Anyone who evaluates schools based on API -- other than "3M" (self-admitted Math Moron McIntyre) -- knows at least the following:
** Don't even TRY to compare year-to-year if the school is new, growing rapidly, and has a consistent influx of kids that would be considered among the poorest achievers (which is EXACTLY who goes to a new, voluntary charter school in a poor community).
The 50 English-learners you started with in year 1 could all be little geniuses by year 3 or 4, but when you add 50-75 NEW immigrant or low-achieving kids from other schools to the mix each year, those genius' averages are LOST amid a wash of lower scores following behind them, due to an API averaging system.
Aguilar says they have STUDENT-BY-STUDENT scores that show the ones that they have been teaching for several years are advancing FASTER than their peers at other nearby schools (but the tyranny of AVERAGING many more year 1 and year 2 newer students weighs heavier than the progress of the longer-term students).
Learning about averages in Math class was probably the week Borg McI stayed home "sick" trying to write quips for the the Playboy Jokes page on the back of the centerfold spread... or he just slept through, or MAYBE just avoids recalling because it would SCREW UP HIS RADIO MANTRAS about "heading in the wrong direction"). Translation: We can NAIL this charter school, because they've been MORE interested in teaching kids that other schools threw over (because they HURT that school's average), than worrying about Semillas' OWN averages. kick Semillas for concentrating on what schools are SUPPOSED to concentrate on -- education, and not goosing the test numbers (By NOT testing the low achievers... a common trick in the "regular" schools)... JUST so the administrator gets a better reputation.
Like I said.... don't get me started on that, there. . .
Huizar is a wimp. He hasn't done anything for his district and people sneer when they see him. He's lost a lot of respect. His deputy Gustavo was heard telling people Huizar's motion for pay raise for school board members was Antonio's idea. Good going Gustavo laying out your boss. Gustavo is a mafisio corrupt idiot.
Jose is another Antonio puppet. He's getting the same crap out of CD14 for being a "DO NOTHING COUNCILMAN" Ask anyone in the district and they won't be able to name one thing Jose has done since taking office. He's a joke. His balls have been taken away that is if he had any to begin with. Its weak men like him that are good lapdogs for Antonio. Looks like the Teachers Union took heat for that backroom deal with Antonio. Last night they held a meeting and were angry they the teachers House of Rep was not allowed in the process.
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To 4:49 / 5:40: When I'm Mayor, will you be my education adviser? You made some very interesting points, especially No. 1: reduce class size. Thanks for taking the time to educate us.
To 10:39: You make some good points, but you could boost your own credibility by omitting the personal attacks on Doug McIntyre. You'd probably also lower your own blood pressure.
Your point, as I understand it, is that to guage a school's performance accurately, you have to look at how the scores of its students change over time. Otherwise, you're comparing apples and oranges.
A school that takes on the challenge of teaching kids who don't speak English will always have lower initial scores than, say, a school that "cherry picks" children who have a track record of doing well on standardized tests.
In that regard, see the Saturday Open Thread posting about public vs. private schools.
Aguilar does not have access to other school's individual student grades, so his claim is pure _____
(fill in the blank).
Is Aguilar's school the only one in the community enrolling English Learners? Don't think so.
Keep spinning Mechistas!
(Maybe it's too much "circular" thinking)
Eli Broad is mad at MAV for cutting a deal for the legislation.
Maybe he'll get mad enough to buy the legislature and get his own bill.
Eli for LAUSD Superintendent!!!
Let's get up a petition; where is Eliseo Villanueva when we need him?
Wait a minute there...
Did Walter say "When I'm Mayor"??
Walter, a monkey will jump out of your ass before you are Mayor of Los Angeles.
Keeping Antonio's schedule alone would kill you the first month.
When that monkey jumps out, I'm going to name him "Phil."
School is out due to another Snow Job.
Hot off the presses, “Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez of Los Angeles, transplant from San Diego, has taken away the legitimacy of Assemblyperson Jackie Goldberg’s scheduled meetings for the Assembly Education Committee Conference Hearings that were to be held on July 25,26 & 27.”
If they do take place they will be downgraded to Town Hall Meetings, whose testimony will not be part of the official public record. This is not just a Snow Job it’s a Dirty Snow Job.
It is obvious that Goldberg will not go against her own party’s leadership and fight that they be legitimized again.
The real question is why? The answer lies in doing away with the Inspector General’s Independent oversight of LAUSD budgets. As it stands now, the Inspector General is able to independently investigate waste, fraud and misuse of taxpayer’s money. Under the Mayor’s plan the Inspector General will loose its independence. The Superintendent, who is currently appointed by the school board, will be appointed by the Mayor and his political cronies who will then appoint the Inspector General. This is something that current Superintendent Romer has been trying to do for years with Fabian Nunez’s assistance under Bill #2425. If this happens the public will lose their right and democratic authority to control the public school system.
Let’s go further and find out why this is so important. When the newest Bond Issue is passed the Los Angeles Unified School District budget will be $20.667 Billion Dollars. A free for all for the Mayor and all his developer friends who helped put him in office.
Those paying the bill will be the taxpayer’s who will have less of a voice in government. The taxpayers will lose the ability to choose an independent Inspector General who can go after all those who line their pockets illegitimately.
If you are concerned about the improper use of the LAUSD budget and the loss of your voice and choice in education sign up to attend one of the Mayor’s Town Hall Meetings and don’t allow the moderator to silence you. Speak up and confront the Mayor about this issue. You are a taxpaying citizen who needs to have your taxes spent well. You can sign up at: http://ga1.org/fightforourschools/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=2235096
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