Los Angeles school board member Steve Zimmer supports fellow board member Bennett Kayser, who has been the target of vicious attacks by the charter industry. Kayser has also been endorsed by Board chairman Dr. Richard Vladovic.
Here is Bennett’s website:
http://www.bennett2015.com/about.html
Here is how to volunteer to help:
http://www.bennett2015.com/events.html
By Steve Zimmer
Exactly two years ago, The California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) sent out a series of campaign hit pieces blaming me for the budget cuts that hit LAUSD during the great recession. They attacked me on every front they could with over three million dollars raised from the likes of Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Rhee and Eli Broad. It was the ugliest, most expensive school board campaign in the history of the nation. We thought it couldn’t get any worse.
Then, last summer CCSA came after Dr. George McKenna with a vengeance. With lies, filth and distortion they tried to mar the career of one of the most beloved educators ever to teach and lead schools in South Los Angeles. The effort failed and McKenna won handily. We thought we had seen the worst.
We were wrong.
In the current School Board election campaign the Charter Schools Association has turned their sights on my colleague Bennett Kayser. In an onslaught of mail, radio and TV commercials, CCSA has gone completely off the rails in their effort to vilify Bennett Kayser. The first mailer attacks Kayser as a racist (http://bit.ly/racistattack) despite the fact that he has a 100% voting record on every major district transformation supported by civil rights groups. They claim he protected child molesters (http://bit.ly/distortingrecordsondismissals) when the entire Board has voted to dismiss every single teacher accused of crimes against children . The most disgusting TV advertisement (http://bit.ly/MockingDisability) directly mocks and mimics his public fight against Parkinson’s.
We have never, ever seen attacks like these in political campaigns.
Bennett Kayser is a good man. His entire adult life has been devoted to public service. And he is an outstanding policy maker. He has been a leading advocate on the Board in support of Early Childhood Education, Adult Education, Arts Education and Immigrant Rights. His courage in his fight against Parkinson’s has been a ray of hope to families fighting neurological diseases.
So why is the Charter Schools Association so hell bent on destroying this man?
One reason and one reason only: he votes against charter schools. Not all charter schools. But most. He has many explanations for this including that charter schools do not serve an equitable number of special education students.
It is fair to disagree with Kayser. In a tough campaign it is fair to attack him for voting against charters. But this is not what the Charter Schools Association is doing.
CCSA seeks to take over the Board of Education by any means necessary. The Association believes in a private sector, corporate model for privatizing our public schools. If CCSA’s candidate, Ref Rodriguez, wins on March 3rd, CCSA will gain control of the LAUSD Board. This will mean an even greater expansion of charter schools and a much greater number of colocations on district campuses, without concern for the financial stability of our district or its impact on district students.
But that’s not the most important reason we should stand against what CCSA is doing.
We should stand against this because it is morally and ethically wrong. By equating voting against a charter school to racism, CCSA cheapens the deep struggles that still face our city and our nation. The crimes against children in school districts are both heinous acts and moral outrages. But to use the suffering of children and families as a campaign issue is the lowest form of political exploitation I have ever seen.
The most shocking attack is the attack on Mr. Kayser’s disability. I have seen very closely how difficult Bennett’s struggle against Parkinson’s is. It is a disease that affects his mobility, physical stability and his speech. But Parkinson’s does not affect Bennett Kayser cognitively nor does it impair his conscience. Bennett Kayser is absolutely fit to serve a second term on the school board. Bennett talks openly about Parkinson’s and uses his profile to raise awareness and allay fears about his disease. His courage to face down illness and to battle publicly should be celebrated not derided.
Do not let the Charter School Association get away with this. They are not only destroying a man; they are degrading our entire electoral process. This is one of those moments when if you do not directly stand against this, you are complicit.
This is especially true for every charter school that is a member of CCSA. If you think it is wrong to dehumanize a person, call upon the leadership of the organization that represents your schools to take these ads down.
Do not let Ref Rodriguez get away with this.
The candidate will tell you he has nothing to do with this. But when a candidate directly or indirectly accepts the dehumanization of his or her opponent it raises serious questions about their character. The willingness to view those who disagree with you as less than human is what actually raises questions about one’s fitness to serve. I have grave concerns that the ethical recklessness that has driven this campaign will become the operational norm of the Board of Education if CCSA is successful in taking control.
Finally, it is a time to lead. We cannot let Bennett Kayser stand alone.
I call on all of our elected leadership and community leadership to stand against the moral low bar of this campaign. If we allow the public tar and feathering of those who follow their conscience to become an acceptable norm, we are endangering the very republic itself; we are rupturing the fibers of our social contract. Stand up and call on CCSA to take down its commercials and apologize for its mailers (jed@calcharters.org). Stand next to the courageous charters to withdraw their membership from CCSA.
And most importantly, let us all commit to re-focusing our attention on children, their families and their school communities. While we argue and hurt one another their dreams languish. It is these dreams, after all, to which we are all accountable.
Steve Zimmer is quite right to call on Refugio Rodriguez to not just distance himself from these scurrilous charges, but to denounce them.
No excuses.
Want to know what a moral and responsible person does?
This blog, 4-6-2013, “Why I Apologized for Something I Did Not Say”—
Link: https://dianeravitch.net/2013/04/06/why-i-apologized-for-something-i-did-not-say/
[start excerpt]
Let me explain my apology for a term I did not utter or even hear.
A reader on this blog asked me my reaction to the ethnic slur made referring to Rhee. I wrote a comment, then decided to say it louder in a post.
I don’t play by the same rules as Rhee. She goes around the nation insulting teachers and trying to persuade the public to support reactionary legislatures and governors who take away their right to have a collective voice, cut their pensions and their health benefits, and remove any job security from them. That’s wrong and I will say it’s wrong again and again.
But I won’t condone the use of ethnic or racial slurs.
My rules include civility, courtesy, fairness, and reason. Is it fair that someone who makes $50,000 to give a speech for one hour attacks teachers who make that much in a year? Is it fair that she belittles people whose jobs are so hard and so valuable to society?
I don’t think so. I will argue it, say it, and insist upon it. But without any slurs based or race, ethnicity, or gender.
[end excerpt]
Mr. Rodriguez, your turn.
😎
P.S. Perhaps this bit from LASCHOOLS REPORT, 2-27-2014, “Kayser, Rodriguez, Thomas make closing arguments for themselves” explains why his silence is deafening:
“Rodriguez … founded a network of charter schools in northeast LA and the San Fernando Valley.”
$tudent $ucce$$. It’s all about the kids.
Rheeally! And in the most Johnsonally sort of ways too…
😳
This inspired me to donate to Kayser.
Me too.
I am a huge fan of your blog. You present the clearest view of what is wrong with the “corporate reformers.” However, I live in Steve Zimmer’s district in Los Angeles, and his record on the kind of things you write about is very spotty. I certainly support his position on Bennett Kaiser, but Zimmer often supported former Superintendent Deasy, the iPad
purchases, and the use of test scores in teacher evaluations. I would love to know why you consider him “teacher friendly.”
Mark Elinson
Steve Zimmer was a teacher in LAUSD for 17 years. He is thoughtful, not doctrinaire. The billionaires spent millions to knock him off the board. He won.
17 years and he still destroyed other teachers to get what he wanted. What he says in this post indicts him fir that . It inducts all of them for being lazy, indifferent and ambitious . They threw me and many other innocent teachers under the bus to get the reforners off their back . Due process and civil rights are clearly two concession teachers are not afforded . I have defended these swine for the last time . I hope the emperor broad and the mutants sam Walton spawned eat them all alive.
Diane, your words are cruel and since you are not ignorant of the problems in L.A. there can be no other conclusion that you value party politics above teachers and education.
He actually admits that all of them voted to fire every single teacher that came before the board , which is true , but it’s not something to brag on because many of those teachers were innocent . They are NOT there to rotely rubber stamp dismissals according to the whims of the Emperor Broad or their ambition. You more than fired these teachers , you made them unemplyable without even reading the charges. My life and many others are in ruins so you and the others could gain political approval . You had no interest in the ceracity of these allegations . You are talking about violating civil rights l which is what you did and continue to do to teachers. So your panties in are in bunch because these same imperialist @&$% are playing hardball in an election and we are supposed to empathize ? Not bloody likely given the complete and utter lack of it you had for teachers Deasy directed administrators to get rid off any way they could and they did so with your eager assistance no less. That you are so shamelessly referring to it like YOU made some kind of sacrifice epitomizes entitled , arrogant idiocracy I am stunned by this sociopathy and the irony of it being posted here of all places . I have read the cases , and many were kicked back by the OAH and appellate court because they were absurd . Most teachers just settle because they have no money for lawyers after being starved out during Lengthy unpaid suspensions as they wait out that date . However I want to thank Mr. Zimmer because even though I have the count from long frustrated efforts to get LAUSD to abide FOIL and the damning meeting minutes document the fact they could not be bothered by due process, he is publicly confirming that the BOE knowingly violated my rights and those of at least 200 teachers who knew they were innocent and fought for for their careers and reputations. Even now teachers who were ordered reinstated by the courts remain victimized by this political gaming . That is contempt of court and obstruction of justice . You didn’t even investigate the accusations . They were treated like gospel because administrators are NEVER sexist, racists, haters, bullies or bRoadies installed to do just what they did ( sarcasm ) Shame on all of you . You are each personally liable for the harm you caused us . And I, for one , plan to to expose this and seek punitive damages in court .
Unfreakingbelievable. You are no hero, Mr. Zimmer. Not even close . You people have a job to do . If the suits and the BOE understood that , you would have been diligent and you and members before you would have fired the perverts in the first place instead of turning innocent teachers into sacrificial lambs for Deasy when it came out that the distrct literally protected perverts to protect enrollment ( ADA$&&) . I am furious and when others read this they will be too. Karma is coming to roost on Beaudry Ave .
Despite so many teachers being thrown under the bus by LAUSD, UTLA is not even working to try to get insurance for teachers accused of misconduct. So that teachers would have a fighting chance. Crickets from UTLA.
Sorry I’m late to the Steve Zimmer party.
I too need to back up what others say about this man.
Yes, the Reformers spent a lot of money to defeat him in his last election.
Ultimately, so what.
For all the good it did to have him hold his seat, he backed John Deasy in every single wrong-headed excess.
AND SAID NOTHING IN PROTEST.
This man loves to quote Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement in self-aggrandizing way, but never showed any of the courage of the people he claims to admire. Yes, he puts out vanity Gandhi-esque appeals that are as inspiring as your guidance counselor posters.
I know he admires Diane Ravitch and can speak highly of NPE’s goals in the safety of Occidental.
But in the real blood and guts matters of what constitutes true education, Steve Zimmer is a coward. He has never once stuck his neck out until it was absolutely “safe” to do so–failing the educators and students of LAUSD.
He helped create the very things he is now rallying others to fight against.