Subject: Help Mayor Villaraigosa Improve LA Schools?


Dear Senator:

I am writing to urge you to NOT support AB1381 which would give authority to the Mayor of Los Angeles to take over the school board of the LAUSD. The school board is a duly elected body and if they are not doing their job efficiently and with the best interest of the students in mind, then they should be removed from their elected positions.

This bill thwarts the election process and undermines the value--and more importantly, the voice of all Californians--those with children in LAUSD and those without.

WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? Didn't we just defeat a bill giving the Governor too much power over state spending? And now we want to put the education of our children into the hands of "mayoral boards" with the mayor at the helm?

Doesn't this bill just set up more bureaucracy?

And what kind of a deal did he make with UTLA and the CTA? Why and since when are teachers' unions being consulted on issues regarding the "education" of students? Isn't their first loyalty to teachers? Shouldn't we be consulting parents and teachers and the rest of the citizens of Los Angeles (taxpayers) who have a real stake in and interest in the quality of education in their community?

I urge you to please vote "NO" on AB1381 and put this issue back where it belongs in the hands of the citizens of Los Angeles County and the elected members of the LAUSD Board of Education.

Sincerely,

Donna C.