I received an urgent message from a parent of a student at Venice High school in Los Angeles. She was desperate because had just learned that the privatization-friendly LA school board was about to vote on whether to give half of Venice High School to Steve Barr, eduentrepreneur (founder of Green Dot charters but now running a new charter chain). He wanted to start a “pilot school,” and this parent was outraged because, she said, Venice is a good school and didn’t need another school to take half its space away.
She wrote later to tell me that Venice High had narrowly escaped.
This reader offers his perspective:
“At the Tuesday LAUSD Board Meeting Deasy’s and Steve Barr’s sneak attack on Venice High School was stopped. The board voted to approve the plan but not the location because LAUSD and Barr made sure that until the last moment the public did not know. In fact a board member brought up Barr’s name and said it was in their documentation. I looked at my large printout and it was in theirs not ours. A student obtained in less than 2 days about 1,000 signature to not have that school on their campus.
“Previous to this as a result of Steve Zimmer being elected instead of the corporate privatizer put up by Rhee and friends Monica Garcia, every privatizers bought and sold friend, will not be board president after this term. She has had six and that has never before happened. Now no one can have it for more than 2 years.”
Unfortunately the petulant Deasy who didn’t get his way here will try to run roughshod over the wishes of the community. So this isn’t the end of the story, sadly.
Venice now has to vote on whether the “empty space” will be given over to a charter school or that same pilot school. In essence, they now get to choose their method of execution. Interesting times.
Deasy doesn’t do well when he doesn’t get his way. Anyone remember how he “fired” a substitute teacher right in front of the students because he didn’t like what she was teaching, which turned out to be what the classroom teacher had asked her to do???? If Antonio Sanchez is defeated in the up-coming run-off, Deasy is going to have lots of chances to show his true colors. He has often come close to “losing” it at board meetings.
This is not the first time decisions have been usurped by the district. At the Arts High School, the same pilot model allowed parents to participate with the hiring of a new principal. The district ignored the rules and put their own choice in. Then, there was the fiasco with the naming of the school. Again, the parents were legally allowed to chose the name. But, they were overruled by the district.
“Reformers” know they can get away with anything. Ignoring the rules and going against parents is in direct conflict with their public claims that parent involvement is critical to student success.
The important part of this story is that much of the public is not yet aware of the privatization of their schools. When they find out, they will react strongly.
As for Deasy, as the investigations regarding child abuse emerge in his district, the evidence is pointing to him and his administrators.
I meant that the evidence is pointing to him and his administrators as covering up reports of abuse, instead of reporting it as mandated by law.
Linda, et. al.: In Illinois, K12 is trying to move in to 18–count ’em!–EIGHTEEN suburban school districts, many of those having EXCELLENT schools (the one school district hearing I viewed asked the K12 snake oil salesman why their district needed virtual “schools” (in quotes, as these are NOT schools) when their students made 97.5% meet/exceed for AYP on our state tests.
The school board & administrators had done their homework, asked really good ???/made great comments. It is certain that the school board will NOT approve the K12 application.
Now, however, as Tim Furman commented in another of Diane’s posts today, we DO, unfortunately, have a state charter committee, which may override a district’s decision (happened in Chicago, where they’re closing a public school, yet opening a charter just a few blocks away).
yay!
Wonderful, chalk one up for public school retention. I am happy that Steve Zimmer got the job and its paying bonus for us now because we really didn’t want that privateer Monica Garcia on the board but especially not in another term as board president. Maybe the board of ed will finally realize they are a PUBLIC school board, not instruments for private, out of towners. Its called the Los Angeles Board, not Gates, Eli Broad, Bloomberg board.
This is all very true what the mother has said. I was in the board room all day. What is very strange and shows how really crazy they are at LAUSD is that there were three proposed “Pilot Schools” on Agenda item 25. Barr’s name is only listed on the board large printout not on the one given to the public which itself is 805 pages long. I just looked to make sure. Also, one of the other schools is Poly High in the San Fernando Valley. Poly High spent 3 years with students, parents, teachers and community to finalize a plan which had a 93% vote. Now compare that to Venice which had no notice and only at the last minute even learned that Barr was involved. Did we not read in this blog or on the net that Barr was seriously involved in Louisianna just two weeks ago? Now because Deasy and Barr are busted in public with their cheap trick Deasy cannot contain himself and goes nutszoid at Venice at the parents and community. Who does he think he is???????? Thank you Steve Zimmer and all the Venice community who came to the board meeting for this important vote.
Relating to child abuse both Deasy and general counsel Holmquist should be in jail for breaking the child abuse reporting and interfering with investigation laws of the State of California. These laws are California Penal Code Sections 11163-11174.3. It is time we start prosecuting the child abuse laws now on the books when administrators break the law. Many teachers are falsely charged with child abuse. I actually had this audited by the California State Auditor in 1997. This audit on the Auditors website is Oct. 1997, 96121. Teachers being falsely charged with crimes is now worse than ever and in the process there is no legally required Skelly Hearing and no “Due Process.” This is unacceptable. We need the D.A. to prosecute and when convicted go to jail and never work in education again. That will give them a good day won’t it? Every time Deasy told the Miramonte Elementary School employees to not talk with the investigators he broke the child abuse laws. Each person he did that to is a separate crime.
So when does the term end? I can’t wait for her to step down!
Why is there a meaningless statement put up on a blog which is supposed to be intelligent from people who know what they are talking about?