The Unmitigated Gall: Mayor Villaraigosa Criticizes The Board Of Education For Not Being “Transparent.”
By Donna Connolly
“Without transparency, there can be no accountability”, says Mayor Villaraigosa in his plea to supporters on his Excellence in LA Schools website–a statement that forces one to reexamine what it means to be “transparent.”
If to be transparent means to draft a bill in the State Legislature that usurps the authority a locally elected body and places it into the hands of a 26-member council and sell it to the public as a means to “cut the bureaucracy, increase accountability, [and] provide a central role for our city leaders”, then we have either redefined the definition of transparent or revealed the inadequate education of a few of our legislatures. I think they have confused the definition of transparent with its antonyms “unclear, ambiguous and vague.”
In a radio interview, Gloria Romero claims that critics of AB 1381 are ‘babbling on about power grab” and insists that AB 1381 is not a grab for power. In her words, the bill is an “opportunity …to turn around achievement and to boost the quality of education in LA Unified.”
If AB 1381 is not a “power grab” than how do you explain the instantaneous power the mayor of Los Angeles was given the morning Gov. Schwarzennegar signed the bill into law? Did he just eat too much spinach? And if it is an opportunity to boost the quality of education, then why doesn’t this bill explain how a 26 member Council of Mayors will be more effective at doing that, then a 6 member elected school board?
I agree with the mayor on one issue in this debate and that is that without transparency, there can be no accountability-but the burden of transparency falls on those responsible for bringing this bill to the fore. It is their responsibility to explain to the voters how commandeering their constitutional right is in the best interest of their children.
By Donna Connolly
“Without transparency, there can be no accountability”, says Mayor Villaraigosa in his plea to supporters on his Excellence in LA Schools website–a statement that forces one to reexamine what it means to be “transparent.”
If to be transparent means to draft a bill in the State Legislature that usurps the authority a locally elected body and places it into the hands of a 26-member council and sell it to the public as a means to “cut the bureaucracy, increase accountability, [and] provide a central role for our city leaders”, then we have either redefined the definition of transparent or revealed the inadequate education of a few of our legislatures. I think they have confused the definition of transparent with its antonyms “unclear, ambiguous and vague.”
In a radio interview, Gloria Romero claims that critics of AB 1381 are ‘babbling on about power grab” and insists that AB 1381 is not a grab for power. In her words, the bill is an “opportunity …to turn around achievement and to boost the quality of education in LA Unified.”
If AB 1381 is not a “power grab” than how do you explain the instantaneous power the mayor of Los Angeles was given the morning Gov. Schwarzennegar signed the bill into law? Did he just eat too much spinach? And if it is an opportunity to boost the quality of education, then why doesn’t this bill explain how a 26 member Council of Mayors will be more effective at doing that, then a 6 member elected school board?
I agree with the mayor on one issue in this debate and that is that without transparency, there can be no accountability-but the burden of transparency falls on those responsible for bringing this bill to the fore. It is their responsibility to explain to the voters how commandeering their constitutional right is in the best interest of their children.
posted by David Hernandez @ 4:38 PM
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